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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move ‘runs counter to the Thai people’s longstanding tradition of protection for the most vulnerable’.
ADVERTISEMENTThe UN and the US are among those who have rebuked Thailand over its decision to deport at least 40 Uyghurs to China this week. The men, who had been held for more than a decade by the Thai authorities, were put on a plane early on Thursday. This came a month after the group made a public appeal to halt their planned removal from the country. The move has sparked fears about the men’s treatment in China, where, in recent years, there has been a brutal crackdown against Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in the northwest of the country. Responding to the deportation, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Thailand’s actions were “a clear violation of international human rights laws and standards”. “It is deeply regrettable that they have been forcibly returned,” Türk said. “It is now important for the Chinese authorities to disclose their whereabouts, and to ensure that they are treated in accordance with international human rights standards.”The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also condemned the development “in the strongest possible terms”, stressing that Uyghurs in China “have faced persecution, forced labour and torture”. Speaking in his Senate confirmation hearing last month, Rubio had urged Thailand not to deport the group.The Republican expressed his disappointment on Thursday, saying the deportation “runs counter to the Thai people’s longstanding tradition of protection for the most vulnerable and is inconsistent with Thailand’s commitment to protect human rights”. The Thai authorities defended the decision, noting that China had promised not to harm the men. They also claimed the Uyghurs had returned voluntarily, after being shown a document in Chinese declaring that they would be allowed to live normally upon their return. It is not the first time that Thailand has faced an international outcry over the issue. In 2015, it was criticised for deporting 109 Uyghurs to China against their will. Some Western governments have accused Beijing of committing genocide against the Uyghurs, around a million of whom are thought to have been sent to detention camps and prisons. Former detainees say abuse and disease are rife, and deaths are not uncommon. The Chinese state has also destroyed cultural heritage in Xinjiang province, including hundreds of mosques, according to experts. ADVERTISEMENTChina, which strenuously denies the accusations, says its policies in the region are a response to terrorism.
