US, Australia condemn Thailand’s return of 40 Uighurs to China

WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Feb 27 condemned Thailand’s return of at least 40 Uighurs to China, where Washington says members of the Muslim group have faced genocide.

The move by Thailand,

a US ally, came despite urging by UN human rights experts not to return the Uighurs the Thai government has held in detention for a decade, warning they were at risk of torture, ill-treatment and “irreparable harm” if returned.

Rights groups and some Western governments accuse Beijing of widespread abuse of Uighurs, an ethnic minority numbering about 10 million in China’s western region of Xinjiang. Beijing denies any wrongdoing.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms Thailand’s forced return of at least 40 Uighurs to China, where they lack due process rights and where Uighurs have faced persecution, forced labour, and torture,” Mr Rubio said in a statement.

The top US diplomat said Thailand risked “running afoul of its international obligations” under the UN Convention Against Torture and other global conventions, and called on Thai officials to “fully verify continuously” that the Chinese authorities protect Uighurs’ human rights.

“We urge all governments in countries where Uighurs seek protection not to forcibly return ethnic Uighurs to China,” Mr Rubio said.

Mr Rubio, who was a staunch advocate for Uighurs when he served as a US senator, reiterated that Beijing’s treatment of the group had amounted to “genocide and crimes against humanity”, a designation the US first made in the waning hours of President Donald Trump’s first term in 2021.

The Biden administration maintained the genocide designation, enraging Beijing, and the issue since has been a sticking point in rocky US-China relations.

Mr Rubio said during his confirmation hearing in January that he would use the strong US relationship with Thailand to prevent the Uighurs from being sent back.

China denies allegations of forced labour towards Uighurs, arguing it had established “vocational training centres” in recent years to curb terrorism, separatism and religious radicalism.

The Thai embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to requests for comment on Mr Rubio’s remarks.

China’s embassy said 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 spokesman Liu Pengyu said in an e-mailed response.

In Australia, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Feb 28 that Australia “strongly disagrees” with Thailand’s decision to transfer 40 Uighurs to China against their will, and has raised concerns about their treatment with the Chinese government.

“The Australian government strongly disagrees with the decision of the Thai government to transfer a cohort of 40 Uighurs to China against their will,” Ms Wong said in a statement.

Australia has grave concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the treatment of the Uighur and other Muslim minorities in China, Ms Wong said.

“We have repeatedly raised our concerns with the Thai government and have also now raised our expectations about the group’s treatment with the Chinese authorities,” she added.

Concerns about the repatriations grew in Thailand early on Feb 27 after media reports and images showed several trucks with windows covered in black tape leaving the Bangkok immigration centre where 48 Uighurs had been held.

Those 48 Uighurs were part of a group of 300 who fled China and were arrested in 2014. Some were sent back to China and others to Turkey, with the rest kept in Thai custody.

A few hours later, at 4.48am, an unscheduled China Southern Airlines flight left Don Mueang airport in the Thai capital to land six hours later in Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang region, tracker Flightradar24 showed.

Thailand’s Defence Minister later said the Uighurs had been sent back in accordance with international standards, and that China had assured Thailand the individuals it returned would be looked after. REUTERS