Canada, U.S. offered Uyghurs in Thailand asylum before their deportation to China: sources

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Mar 05, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: March 5

Canada and the United States offered to resettle 48 taste Uyghurs held successful detention successful Thailand implicit the past decade, sources told Reuters, but Bangkok took nary enactment for fearfulness of upsetting China, wherever they were covertly deported past week.

Thailand has defended the deportation, which came despite calls from United Nations quality rights experts, saying that it acted in accordance to laws and quality rights obligations.

Human rights groups impeach China of wide abuses of Uyghurs, a chiefly Muslim taste number numbering astir 10 cardinal successful its northwestern portion of Xinjiang. Beijing denies immoderate abuses.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said connected Monday that nary state made immoderate factual connection to resettle the 48 Uyghurs.

"We waited for much than 10 years, and I person spoken to galore large countries, but nary 1 told maine for certain," helium told reporters.

Phumtham was retired of authorities from 2006 until mid-2023.

The United States offered to resettle the 48 Uyghurs, said an authoritative from the U.S. State Department.

"The United States has worked with Thailand for years to debar this situation, including by consistently and repeatedly offering to resettle the Uyghurs successful different countries, including, astatine 1 point, the United States," the U.S. authoritative said, asking not to beryllium named.

Canada besides offered asylum to the detained Uyghurs, said 4 sources, including diplomats and radical with nonstop knowledge.

Two of these sources said different connection came from Australia.

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These proposals, which the sources said were not taken guardant by Thailand implicit fears of a fallout with China, person not been antecedently reported.

All the sources declined to beryllium named due to the fact that of the sensitivity of the matter.

Thailand's overseas ministry did not instantly respond to requests for comment.

China's overseas ministry said successful effect to a question from Reuters that the repatriation was carried retired successful accordance with Chinese, Thai and planetary law.

"The repatriated were Chinese nationals who are amerciable migrants," it said. "The morganatic rights of the applicable radical are afloat protected."

A spokesperson for Canada's migration ministry said they would not remark connected idiosyncratic cases.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade referred to a statement by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who said connected Friday the state "strongly disagrees" with Thailand's decision.

China's embassy successful Bangkok said successful a connection connected Friday that 40 Chinese amerciable migrants, who had not committed immoderate superior crimes, had returned location to beryllium reunited with their families aft much than 10 years of separation.

Besides the 40 Uyghurs deported past week, 5 are presently successful a Thai situation owed to an ongoing transgression case, according to section officials. Reuters could not instantly corroborate the whereabouts of the different 3 people.

'Didn't privation to upset China': ex-Thai ambassador to Canada

Pisan Manawapat, a Thai ambassador to Canada and the U.S betwixt 2013 and 2017 and a legislator earlier helium retired successful 2024, said that astatine slightest 3 countries had approached Thailand with proposals to resettle the Uyghurs, but declined to sanction them.

"We didn't privation to upset China," Pisan told Reuters, without providing further details. "So we did not marque the determination astatine the governmental level to spell done with this."

China is Thailand's biggest commercialized spouse and the 2 countries person adjacent concern ties.

Deputy premier Phumtham said Thailand made the determination to deport the radical to China past week aft reassurances from Beijing that Thai officials would beryllium let to show the Uyghurs' well-being successful the state pursuing their return.

United Nations quality rights experts had said the radical would beryllium astatine hazard of torture, ill-treatment, and "irreparable harm" if returned to China, and their deportation has drawn wide condemnation.

Following the deportation, the UN's exile bureau said in a connection that it was repeatedly denied entree to the radical by Thai authorities.

A root said the UN exile agency's deficiency of entree to the Uyghurs meant they could not beryllium processed arsenic asylum seekers, stalling their imaginable resettlement and leaving them stuck successful detention.