Thailand: Forced Deportation of Uyghurs to China Raises Grave Human Rights Concerns

The deported individuals are part of a group of approximately 350 Uyghurs who fled persecution and discrimination in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and were apprehended by Thai authorities in March 2014. For over a decade, these individuals have reportedly been held in de facto incommunicado detention, without access to legal representation, family members, or visits from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights or the UN Refugee Agency. In 2015, Thailand forcibly returned 109 Uyghurs to China—a move widely condemned by the international community due to the well-documented risk of serious human rights violations they faced upon return.

The Chinese government’s systematic repression of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang is extensively documented. International human rights bodies and independent experts have reported widespread human rights violations, including mass arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture, and other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. These violations have been recognized by UN experts and numerous human rights organisations as potentially amounting to crimes against humanity.

In January 2025, a group of UN experts warned the Thai government against the potential deportation of 48 Uyghur detainees, emphasizing that the group faced a risk of torture or other serious human rights violations if returned to China. The experts also expressed concern about the deteriorating health of the detainees, noting that 23 of the 48 men reportedly suffer from severe medical conditions. The forced return of these individuals, despite their fragile health and the life-threatening risks they face, constitutes a flagrant breach of Thailand’s international obligations.

As a newly elected member of the UN Human Rights Council, Thailand must uphold the highest standards of human rights. OMCT urges the Thai authorities to immediately clarify the status and whereabouts of the deported Uyghurs and ensure their safety and well-being. It is imperative that Thailand ceases all forced returns of Uyghurs and other at-risk groups to China, in strict compliance with the principle of non-refoulement. Furthermore, Thailand must guarantee access to independent medical care for all Uyghur detainees and ensure their conditions of detention meet international standards. Independent monitors, including UN bodies and humanitarian organisations, should be granted immediate access to the remaining detainees to assess their conditions and provide oversight.

We also call on the Chinese authorities to immediately disclose the fate and whereabouts of the deported Uyghurs and to guarantee their fundamental human rights, including protection from torture and other ill-treatment, and enforced disappearance.