APHR Condemns Thailand’s Deportation of 40 Uyghurs to China, Warns of Grave Human Rights Violations

Jakarta, 4 March 2025 – The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) condemn the Thai government’s decision to deport 40 Uyghur to China on 27 February 2025, despite clear warnings from the international community that they will face an imminent risk of torture, enforced disappearance, and other grave human rights violations upon their return.

“This shameful act by the Thai government is a blatant violation of Thailand’s international human rights obligations and a betrayal of the fundamental principles of asylum and non-refoulement,” said Arlene D. Brosas, APHR Board Member and member of the Philippines House of Representatives. “By forcibly sending these Uyghurs back to China, where there is overwhelming evidence of systematic persecution and abuse against their community, Thailand has placed these individuals in immediate and grave danger.”

The Uyghurs had been detained in Thailand since 2014 after fleeing China’s severe repression of their ethnic and religious identity in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Reports indicate that despite repeated assurances by Thai authorities that there were no plans for their deportation, they were quietly transported in the early hours of February 27, with Chinese authorities reportedly overseeing the operation.

APHR echoes the concerns raised by human rights organizations, the United Nations, and international governments that this deportation violates Thailand’s commitments under the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which explicitly prohibits the return of individuals to a country where they face risks of torture. Furthermore, the right to seek asylum and the principle of non-refoulement are upheld in Article 13 of Thailand’s Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act, as well as Article 16 of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration.

“This covert and unlawful deportation exposes Thailand’s utter disregard for human rights and international legal obligations,” said Wong Chen, APHR Board Member and Malaysian Member of Parliament. “Instead of fulfilling its duty to protect vulnerable individuals, Thailand has actively facilitated their persecution. The Thai government must immediately disclose the whereabouts and condition of the deported Uyghurs and demand full, independent access to monitor their well-being.”

The group deported on 27 February 2025 were part of approximately 300 Uyghurs apprehended by Thai authorities in March 2014. In July 2015, Thailand forcibly returned 109 individuals from this group to China, triggering international condemnation. A letter sent by UN experts to the Thai government in January 2025 revealed that 23 of the remaining 48 Uyghurs in detention were suffering from severe health conditions, including diabetes, kidney dysfunction, paralysis, and heart and lung diseases. After enduring more than a decade of arbitrary detention in Thailand, many of those deported today are believed to be in critical condition, heightening fears over their fate upon return to China.

APHR calls on the Thai government to immediately halt any further deportations and to provide the remaining Uyghur detainees with the protection and fair asylum procedures guaranteed under international human rights law. The organization also urges ASEAN member states and the broader international community to take decisive diplomatic action to hold both Thailand and China accountable and to ensure the safety of Uyghur refugees across the region.

“The forced return of these Uyghurs is a damning indictment of the growing erosion of human rights protections in Southeast Asia,” added Mercy Chriesty Barends, Indonesian Member of Parliament and APHR Co-Chairperson. “Governments in the region must not bow to China’s political pressure at the expense of fundamental human rights and international legal commitments. In the face of such blatant violations, silence and inaction will only embolden further abuses.”

COVER PHOTO CREDIT: Thai authorities issue statement on deportation of Uyghur refugees detained in Thailand to China/EPA-EFE_NARONG SANGNAK/2025