US and Canada Offered to Resettle Uyghurs Deported by Thailand to China, Sources Say
Canada and the United States had offered to resettle 48 ethnic Uyghurs who were detained in Thailand for over a decade, according to sources. However, Thai authorities did not act on these offers due to concerns over upsetting China, where most of the detainees were secretly deported last week.
Thailand has defended the deportation, which occurred despite calls from United Nations human rights experts, stating that it adhered to legal and human rights obligations.
Human rights groups have long accused China of committing widespread abuses against the Uyghur population, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group of about 10 million people in the Xinjiang region. Beijing has repeatedly denied these allegations.
On Monday, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai claimed that no country had made a definitive offer to resettle the 48 Uyghurs. “We waited for more than 10 years, and I have spoken to many major countries, but no one told me for certain,” he told reporters. Phumtham was not in government between 2006 and mid-2023.
A U.S. State Department official confirmed that the U.S. had offered to resettle the detainees, stating, “The United States has worked with Thailand for years to avoid this situation, including by consistently and repeatedly offering to resettle the Uyghurs in other countries, including, at one point, the United States.” The official spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Four sources, including diplomats and those with direct knowledge, said Canada had also extended an asylum offer to the Uyghurs. Two of these sources indicated that Australia had made a similar offer. However, these resettlement proposals were reportedly ignored by Thailand due to fears of straining diplomatic relations with China. These details had not been previously disclosed.
Thailand’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry defended the deportations, stating they were conducted in accordance with Chinese, Thai, and international law. “The repatriated were Chinese nationals who are illegal migrants,” it said, adding that their rights would be “fully protected.”
Canada’s immigration ministry declined to comment on individual cases. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade referred to a statement by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who said on Friday that Australia “strongly disagrees” with Thailand’s decision.
Among the 48 Uyghurs, 40 were deported last week, while five remain imprisoned in Thailand due to an ongoing criminal case, according to local officials. The whereabouts of the remaining three individuals remain unconfirmed, according to Reuters.
Pisan Manawapat, a former Thai ambassador to Canada and the U.S. between 2013 and 2017 and a retired senator, confirmed that at least three countries had approached Thailand with resettlement proposals. However, he declined to specify which nations were involved. “We didn’t want to upset China,” Pisan admitted. “So we did not make the decision at the political level to go through with this.”
China is Thailand’s largest trade partner, and the two countries maintain close economic ties. Phumtham stated that Thailand decided to proceed with the deportations following assurances from China that Thai officials would be permitted to monitor the Uyghurs’ well-being upon their return.
UN human rights experts had warned that returning the Uyghurs to China put them at risk of torture, mistreatment, and other forms of harm. Their deportation has sparked global condemnation.
Following the deportation, the UN refugee agency revealed that it had been repeatedly denied access to the Uyghurs by Thai authorities. A source indicated that the agency’s lack of access prevented the detainees from being formally processed as asylum seekers, ultimately leaving them stranded in detention and hindering their potential resettlement.
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