Australia “strongly disagrees” with Thailand’s forced transfer of 40 Uyghurs to China and has voiced concerns over their treatment in Beijing, Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated on Friday.
Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority numbering about 10 million in the far western region of Xinjiang. Beijing denies any abuses.
On Thursday, Thailand confirmed a secretive pre-dawn deportation of 40 Uyghurs that drew condemnation from the United Nations, the United States and human rights groups, though China said the repatriations were in line with both nations’ laws.
Wong said in a statement that Australia’s government “strongly disagrees” with the decision of Thailand’s government to transfer a cohort of 40 Uyghurs to China “against their will.”
Concerns Over Repatriation
The move came despite urging by United Nations human rights experts not to send back the Uyghurs, whom Thailand had held in detention for a decade after they fled China in 2014.
They ran the risk of torture, ill-treatment and “irreparable harm” if returned, the experts added.
Australia has grave concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the treatment of the Uyghur and other Muslim minorities in China, 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.
Several thousand Uyghurs have settled in Australia.
Thailand Urges To Uphold Rights
Thailand’s prime minister emphasised the need to uphold international standards and human rights after activists raised concerns over the deportation of Uyghurs to China after more than a decade in detention.
On Thursday, China’s official Xinhua news agency said Thailand, acting in line with both nations’ laws, had repatriated 40 Chinese who had entered the Southeast Asian nation illegally, but did not specify if they were Uyghurs.
When asked about the status of the Uyghurs, Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra did not confirm an extradition had taken place in remarks delivered before the Xinhua report, saying she had yet to discuss the issue with officials.
(With inputs from Reuters)
