(Bangkok) – el Thai The delegation that Visit Xinjiang must press publicly Chinese Officials on their abuses against the Uigures and seek access without restrictions at 40 Uyghurs the Thai government returned by force, Human Rights Watch today said.
Prime Minister Vice Minister and Minister of Defense, Phumtham Wechayachai, and the Minister of Justice, Tawee Sodsong, lead a delegation of Thai officials and journalists to the autonomous region of Xinjiang Uyghur in China between March 18 and 20, 2025. The Thai authorities were 40 uyghur men whose forced forced forced forced forced repatriation China on February 27 caused a broad conviction of United Nations Agencies, foreign governmentsand Human Rights Groups.
“The Thai delegation that visits Xinjiang should not participate in the choreography of the Chinese government and the washing of images, but report on how the uigures are really being treated,” he said Elaine PearsonDirector of Asia in Human Rights Watch. “The Thai government needs to begin repairing its damaged reputation of the rights to forcefully send to men to China, insisting on access without restrictions and reports publicly about the condition of the 40 uigures men.”
Both Thai governments and the Chinese have portrayed the deportation of the 40 uigura men and benevolent act To gather them with their families, and Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra repeatedly said that the Chinese government sure She who would not be punished or mistreated. But the previous cases show that such guarantees of the Chinese government lack credibility, said Human Rights Watch.
The Uigures are Turkish -speaking Muslims, most of which live in Xinjiang in northwestern China. The Chinese government has A long time ago hostile to Uigur Identity Expressions. Since the end of 2016, the government of President Xi Jinping has intensified a generalized and systematic campaign of human rights violations against the Uyghur population that is equivalent to crimes against humanity.
The Chinese authorities have detained and unjustly imprisoned the iguuros, they were persecuted for practicing their religion and culture, and subject them to mass surveillance and forced labor. An estimated Half a million uigures Remain imprisoned as part of the ongoing repression, in which the authorities have routinely combined daily peaceful behavior, such as prayer or contact with family members abroad, with terrorism and extremism. The authorities have also repeatedly intimidated the Uyghurs Living abroad To silence them.
The uigures that are considered to China without official permission are seen with intense suspicion, said Human Rights Watch. If returnedThey are subject to detention, interrogation, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
In recent years, the Chinese government has tried to present an image of normality in Xinjiang, even allowing some carefully selected Uyghurs travel to or from the region under severe restrictions. Some iguuros who live abroad have only been able to visit the region if they participate in a propaganda tour during which they are required to praise the Government’s Xinjiang policies.
The Thai government must press the Chinese authorities to reveal the whereabouts of the 40 uigures men sent from Thailand and allow access without obstacles to the UN officials and diplomats to verify the well -being of the Uigures. In addition, Thai authorities should ensure that there will be no more forced returns from the remaining uigures in Thailand, said Human Rights Watch. The Thai government must give asylum applicants to the Uigures access to the UN refugee Agency (UNHCR). Thailand must respect their obligations under international law with respect to people who need protection.
“The worried governments should press China to provide access without restrictions to Xinjiang for both diplomats and the media,” Pearson said. “Monitoring the well -being of these 40 uigures is not an exercise at once, but it will require that these governments continue to press for access.”
