US Senator Marco Rubio vows to oppose deportation of Uyghurs to China

"Thailand is a very strong U.S. partner, a strong historical ally," Rubio said during his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday as quoted by Voice of America.

"That is an area where I think diplomacy could really achieve results because of how important that relationship is and how close it is," he said.

  Marco Rubio's comment assumes significance since he is US President-elect Donal Trump's choice to become the country's next Secretary of State.

Trump's inauguration is scheduled to take place on Monday.

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has urged the Thai authorities to halt any deportation of the 48 Uyghur refugees, detained in a Bangkok detention centre for 11 years, back to China.

The group of Uyghur men sent an SOS message on January 10, 2025 requesting immediate help from the international community, including human rights organisations and entities, WUC said in a statement.

This comes after alleged discussions of their deportation by the Royal Thai government, although they have made no official statement to confirm this.

Thai lawmakers and relatives of several of the detainees, alarmed by this imminent threat, have spoken publicly urging governments to not turn a blind eye.

‘’The Thai authorities must refrain from deporting these Uyghur refugees back to China, where they would certainly be subjected to the worst forms of abuses, in violation with the international law’’ said WUC President, Turgunjan Alawdun. ‘’We call the immediate attention of world leaders.’’

In the letter sent out from detention, the Uyghur refugees state that on January 8th, they were asked to sign a document consenting to voluntary repatriation to China.

After they refused to sign, their individual photos were taken by the detention center authorities.

These alarming developments come as the country is preparing for the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and China, which could signal significant pressure from Beijing to deport the group of refugees.

Since March 2014, 48 Uyghur men have been detained at the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) in Bangkok, Thailand, under inhumane and overcrowded conditions.

These men were part of a larger group of 350 Uyghur refugees who fled China in 2014, seeking to escape persecution in East Turkistan by attempting to reach Turkey through Thailand.

In July 2015, 173 Uyghur women and children were relocated to Turkey, while at least 109 men, women, and children were forcibly returned to China, where their current whereabouts remain unknown.

Since 2014, reports indicate that five Uyghurs, including two children, have died in Thai Immigration Centres due to the dire conditions.

Detainees are confined indoors 24 hours a day in overcrowded, unsanitary cells, with insufficient access to food, physical activity, and medical care.

In February 2024, a group of independent UN experts sent a communication to the Thai government expressing their concerns and calling on the government to provide information on the decade-long arbitrary detention of these men. It additionally requested information on family visits and legal representation.