Global Lawmakers Urge UN to Shield Uyghurs in Thai Detention

Over 50 international legislators are pressing the UN to protect 48 Uyghurs detained in Thailand for over a decade. Held at Thailand's Immigration Detention Centre since 2014, these Uyghurs face deportation to China, a country they fled to escape persecution. Human rights groups highlight their dire conditions.

In a significant diplomatic plea, more than 50 legislators from around the world have called on the United Nations to ensure the safety of 48 Uyghurs, detained in Thailand for over ten years. The appeal to the UN follows concerns that these Uyghurs, held since 2014 at Thailand's Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Centre, risk deportation to China, where they originally fled persecution.

Thai authorities, backed by various humanitarian organizations, claim these Uyghurs are part of a larger group of over 500 individuals who escaped China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, seeking asylum in Southeast Asia. However, bureaucratic obstacles have left many stranded in Thailand, and attempts to resettle them in Turkey through Malaysia have largely been unsuccessful. Human rights bodies express alarm over the harsh conditions in which the Uyghurs are detained, classified as illegal immigrants rather than refugees.

A letter addressed to UNHCR's Filippo Grandi by the Interparliamentary Alliance on China highlights the life-threatening state at the detention centre, where several detainees have died. Stressing the urgency, legislators urged UN intervention, citing potential persecution if the Uyghurs are returned to China. The geopolitical tension surrounding the situation complicates efforts, as Thailand balances relations with both China and Western countries pushing for human rights compliance.

(With inputs from agencies.)