On Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned Thailand for deporting at least 40 Uyghurs to China, where Washington asserts that the Muslim minority has been subjected to genocide.
Despite appeals from United Nations human rights experts, Thailand, a US ally, proceeded with the repatriation of the Uyghurs who had been detained for ten years, warning of potential torture, mistreatment, and “irreparable harm.”
Human rights organizations and several Western nations have accused Beijing of significant abuses against the Uyghurs, a minority group of about 10 million in the western Xinjiang region of China, accusations that Beijing refutes.
In a statement, Rubio said, “We condemn in the strongest possible terms Thailand’s forced return of at least 40 Uyghurs to China, where they lack due process rights and where Uyghurs have faced persecution, forced labor, and torture.”
The senior US official warned that Thailand might be violating its international duties under the UN Convention Against Torture and other international treaties, urging Thai officials to ensure that China respects the human rights of the Uyghurs.
“We urge all governments in countries where Uyghurs seek protection not to forcibly return ethnic Uyghurs to China,” Rubio said.
As a former US senator, Rubio was a vocal supporter of the Uyghurs, affirming that China’s actions against them constitute “genocide and crimes against humanity,” a classification initially made by the US at the end of President Donald Trump’s first term in 2021.
This genocide classification has been continued by the Biden administration, which has strained the already tense US-China relations.
During his confirmation hearing in January, Rubio pledged to leverage the strong US-Thailand relations to prevent the deportation of Uyghurs.
China rejects the claims of forced labor among Uyghurs, stating that it has set up “vocational training centers” to address terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism.
The Thai embassy in Washington did not immediately reply to inquiries about Rubio’s comments.
China’s embassy stated that the repatriation was “carried out in accordance with the laws of China and Thailand, international law, and common practices” and that the “lawful rights and interests of individuals concerned are fully protected.”
“We stand firmly against the attempts to use human rights as a pretext to interfere with China’s internal affairs and to use Xinjiang-related issues to disturb normal law enforcement cooperation between countries,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in an emailed response.
Early Thursday, concerns in Thailand about these deportations escalated after reports and photographs showed several trucks, with windows obscured by black tape, leaving the Bangkok immigration detention center where 48 Uyghurs were being held.
These 48 were among 300 who had fled China and were caught in 2014, with some previously sent back to China or Turkey and others remaining under Thai detention.
Later, at 4:48 am, an unplanned flight by China Southern Airlines departed from Don Mueang airport, arriving six hours later in Kashgar, Xinjiang, as tracked by Flightradar24.
Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai subsequently asserted that the return of the Uyghurs was in line with international norms, and China had given assurances of proper care for the returnees.
