top of page
Search

🚨 HUMAN RIGHTS ALERT 🚨 Will Thailand send two Uyghur men back to China and deepen its complicity in their persecution?

Writer: Manushya Foundation
Manushya Foundation
1d
15 min read

#StopTransnationalRepression | Two Uyghur refugees detained in Thailand since 2014, one of them since childhood, were moved from prison to the Immigration Detention Centre (Suan Phlu) in Bangkok on 21 October 2026 following a royal pardon. They now await deportation.1 Both have told their legal representatives they do not consent to return to China, yet their representatives have not been allowed to see them since the transfer.2 Their fate now rests with Thailand's National Security Council (NSC), whose decision led to the forced return of 40 Uyghur men to China in February 2025.3 If they are forcibly returned, they face a real risk of torture and enforced disappearance!4



If Thailand forcibly returns these men despite the documented risks and repeated warnings from UN experts, its own National Human Rights Commission and civil society, it will deepen its complicity in China’s persecution of Uyghurs. It would continue a pattern of prolonged detention and forced return that has already sent at least 149 Uyghurs back to China since 2015.


👥 Who are they?


The two men are among more than 300 Uyghurs who fled China and were detained by Thai authorities in March 2014.5 Of the five men from this group still held in Thailand, two were 16 years old when they were detained.6 Their names are withheld for their safety.


🔒 Over a decade in Thai custody: The group was held under Thailand's Immigration Act, which allows indefinite detention of people without legal status.7 In February 2024, eight UN Special Procedures mandates wrote to the Thai government about allegations that the Uyghur men were held in "life-threatening conditions", incommunicado, with no legal or social visits and no phone calls. The same letter raised the reported deaths of five Uyghur detainees since 2014, among them a newborn baby and a three-year-old child.8


⛓️ From immigration cell to prison: In 2020, the five men escaped from the Mukdahan Immigration Office, citing inhumane conditions. They were recaptured and sentenced to prison until 2029.9 In March 2025, Amnesty International warned that an early pardon could lead to their transfer to China.10 A royal pardon decree signed on 28 May 2026 made the two men eligible for release.11 On 21 October 2026, they were handed to the Immigration Bureau.12


✍️ They have said no: Both men have told their legal representatives that they do not consent to return to China.13 On 31 October 2026, former MP Kannavee Suebsang made public two letters from Uyghurs held at Klong Prem Central Prison stating that they fear persecution and do not wish to be sent back.14


🚫 Held incommunicado


Since their transfer, the men's legal representatives have not been allowed to see them.15 According to the Peace Rights Foundation, which represents the men, requests for access by their lawyers on 21 and 22 October and by the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT) on 26 October have been neither granted nor refused.16 This continues a decade-long pattern: UN experts have described the group's detention as de facto incommunicado.17 Amnesty International has called for the men to be given a full, effective and fair asylum procedure, a lawyer of their choice and adequate medical care.18


⚖️ China is pressing for their return

  • A meeting six days after the transfer: On 27 October 2026, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jianwei met Gen. Chaipruak Doungprapat, the NSC's new Secretary-General. The NSC said they discussed "law enforcement cooperation between Thailand and China". The Chinese Embassy said Zhang praised "good cooperation in judicial and law-enforcement affairs".19

  • The same language as 2025: When the 40 men were deported, the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok described it as "a concrete measure between China and Thailand in collaboratively tackling immigration crimes".20

  • A leaked memo: Khaosod English reported on 29 October 2026 that an internal memo states the NSC is to decide whether five Uyghur detainees will be repatriated, and that the Chinese Embassy is seeking the return of all five.21

  • An NSC meeting ahead: Thai civil society groups are concerned that an upcoming NSC meeting may include an agenda item to decide the men's fate, as happened before the 2025 deportation.22

If returned, the two men face a real and foreseeable risk of torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance.23

🔁 Thailand has done this before


Thai authorities cannot claim they were unaware of the danger. Returning these men despite repeated warnings would demonstrate a continued willingness to put Uyghur lives at risk under pressure from Beijing.


  • 2015: Thailand deported at least 109 Uyghurs from the same group to China. Nothing has been heard of them since.24 Amnesty International considers that deportation a violation of international law.25

  • 2025: On 27 February 2025, Thailand deported 40 Uyghur men from Suan Phlu to China. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the deportation violated the principle of non-refoulement, which is a "complete prohibition in cases where there is a real risk of torture, ill-treatment, or other irreparable harm", and that "The Thai authorities must ensure there are no further deportations".26 The US State Department said it had been "consistently and repeatedly offering to resettle the Uyghurs in other countries".27 Manushya Foundation condemned the deportation on the day it happened as “Transnational Repression in Action”. It warned that the men faced torture, enforced disappearance and imprisonment, and demanded full transparency on their whereabouts and safe resettlement for the Uyghurs still detained in Thailand.28

  • One year on: UN experts said the 40 men's "fate, state of health and whereabouts remain unknown", that Thailand deported them "without applying the safeguards required to uphold the customary international law principle of non-refoulement", and that the disappearances reflect "a broader pattern of transnational repression".29 Only six of the 40 have appeared in photos or video since their return. On 26 May 2025, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and six other UN experts sent an urgent appeal to China and Thailand requesting information on the 40.30

  • Thailand's own Commission found it unlawful: On 28 October 2025, the NHRCT found that the deportation violated the principle of non-refoulement, Article 3 of the Convention against Torture and Section 13 of the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act B.E. 2565 (2022).31 It found that the authorities relied solely on China's verbal assurance, and that the claim that the men returned voluntarily was not supported by solid evidence.32 It recommended that the government and the NSC review the return of the five remaining Uyghur men, these two included, and that any future return be voluntary, publicly disclosed and backed by a verifiable Chinese guarantee.33

  • 🔗 A TNR pattern, not an exception: In November 2024, the UN Committee against Torture expressed particular concern about the disappearance of foreign political activists within Thailand.34 As Manushya Foundation previously warned, the same pattern of transnational repression now threatens Chinese dissidents in Thailand, including journalist Bai Zhaodong.35

🌍 A legal alternative exists, but it has a trap door


The channel: Clause 8 of the Prime Minister's Office Regulation on Deportation B.E. 2569 (2026), in force since 28 August 2026, allows another country or an international organisation to request, through diplomatic channels, the transfer of a person who faces a risk of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or enforced disappearance.36 The request must be made within seven days of the deportation order, with the person's written consent, and the requesting party must cover the costs. The transfer must be completed within 30 days, which the Minister of Interior may extend twice, by up to 30 days each time.37


⚠️ The trap door: If the transfer is not completed in time, the regulation reverts to ordinary deportation to the person's country of nationality, in this case China. Disputes are decided by the Minister of Interior, whose decision is final.38 A seven-day window leaves very little time for a third country to act. The regulation also contains no mandatory individual risk assessment, no guaranteed access to lawyers or UNHCR, and no appeal with automatic suspensive effect.39


A willing country: According to the Peace Rights Foundation, a Foreign Ministry representative told Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs on 16 September 2026 that a country had offered to receive the men.40


Thailand must use this channel, and must never let the regulation's procedural deadlines override its non-refoulement obligations, which apply whatever the outcome of a transfer request.


📣 The calls are growing


  • UN experts have called on Thailand and other States to "put an end to the forced return of Uyghurs to China".41

  • Thai civil society: CRSP, MWG and TMR warned that the two men "face a real risk of forced return" and called on the government to stop it and facilitate their resettlement in a third country.42

  • Amnesty International: Secretary-General Agnès Callamard, on a working visit to Bangkok, urged the Thai government not to return the five remaining Uyghur men to China, where they could face torture.43

  • Kannavee Suebsang: The former MP called on Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and the NSC to respect the men's wishes and Thailand's obligations under the principle of non-refoulement, the Convention against Torture, the 2022 Act and the resettlement provisions of the Deportation Regulation.44

  • World Uyghur Congress: The WUC urged Thailand not to deport the two men or any of the five remaining detainees, and urged third countries to offer resettlement to all five.45

⚖️ What the law actually requires


Non-refoulement: Thailand may not expel, return or extradite anyone to a State where there are substantial grounds for believing they would face torture, ill-treatment or enforced disappearance. Where the risk is torture, the prohibition is absolute.46


  • Thai law: Section 13 of the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act B.E. 2565 (2022) prohibits any State agency or official from expelling, returning or extraditing a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or enforced disappearance. Section 12 provides that no exceptional circumstance, including a state of war or internal political instability, may be invoked to justify torture or enforced disappearance.47 The NHRCT has affirmed that non-refoulement is a binding obligation for Thailand as a State Party to the Convention against Torture, consistent with the 2022 Act.48

  • Convention against Torture (CAT): Thailand has been a party since 2007. Article 3 prohibits returning a person where there are substantial grounds for believing they would be in danger of torture.49 The Committee against Torture has stated that diplomatic assurances "should not be used as a loophole to undermine the principle of non-refoulement".50

  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR): Thailand has been a party since 1996.51 Under Article 2, read with Articles 6 and 7, States must not remove a person where there are substantial grounds for believing there is a real risk of irreparable harm, such as torture or arbitrary deprivation of life.52

  • International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED): Thailand ratified the Convention on 14 May 2024 and it entered into force for Thailand on 13 June 2024.53 Article 16 prohibits returning a person where there are substantial grounds for believing they would be in danger of enforced disappearance.54

  • Customary international law and regional commitments: UN experts have described non-refoulement as a principle of customary international law, binding regardless of treaty membership.55 Article 16 of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration recognises the right to seek and receive asylum.56 Thailand is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, but has told the Committee against Torture that it "respects the principle of non-refoulement".57

What this means: Each man must receive an individual, independent assessment of the risks he faces before any removal decision. Assurances from a government that has not accounted for the 40 men returned in 2025 cannot meet that test, and Thailand's own Commission has already found that relying on them was unlawful.58

✊ We call on the Royal Thai Government to:

  1. Halt any deportation or forced return to China of the two Uyghur men at Suan Phlu and the three still held in Klong Prem Central Prison.59

  2. Immediately allow their lawyers, the NHRCT and UNHCR to access them, and allow them to contact their families.60

  3. Conduct an individual, independent risk assessment for each one, and give them access to a full, effective and fair asylum procedure.61

  4. Respect their free and informed decisions, and put no document before them without legal counsel present.62

  5. Facilitate their resettlement to a third country under Clause 8 of the Deportation Regulation, and ensure its deadlines never result in a default return to China.63

  6. Implement the NHRCT's 28 October 2025 recommendations on the five remaining Uyghur men.64

  7. Amend the Deportation Regulation to require individual risk assessments, access to legal counsel and UNHCR, and an appeal with automatic suspensive effect.65

  8. Press China to grant independent monitors unhindered and private access to the 40 men deported in 2025, and to disclose their fate and whereabouts.66

On 9 November 2026, Thailand's human rights record will be reviewed under the UN Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, with the outcome adopted on 13 November.67 Thailand holds a seat on the UN Human Rights Council from 2025 to 2027.68 Deporting the Uyghur refugees now would show the world exactly what its pledges are worth.

Now Thailand must choose: protection or complicity.

#WeAreManushyan ♾️ Equal Human Beings



REFERENCES


1. Coalition for the Rights of Refugees and Stateless Persons (CRSP), Migrant Working Group (MWG) and Thailand Migration Reform Consortium (TMR), "Joint Statement: Thailand Must Not Return Uyghur Refugees to China and Must Respect Their Voluntary Choice to Travel to a Third Country", full text published in Prachatai English, "Thailand must not return detained Uyghur refugees to China, say rights groups", 31 October 2026 <https://prachataienglish.com/node/12094>.

2. Ibid.

3. CRSP, MWG and TMR, Joint Statement, above n 1; see also Kasim Kashgar, "He was 14 when Thailand locked him up. Twelve years later, a pardon may deliver him to China", Közet, 30 October 2026 <https://kozet.org/thailand-uyghur-pardon-deportation-china/>.

4. OHCHR, "Thailand Must Immediately Halt Deportation Of 48 Uyghurs To China: UN Experts", press release, Geneva, 21 January 2025, as republished by Scoop <https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO2501/S00218.htm>; see also OHCHR, "China's Silence Deepens Fears over Disappeared Uyghur Returnees a Year On, Warn UN Experts", press release, Geneva, 27 February 2026 <https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/02/chinas-silence-deepens-fears-over-disappeared-uyghur-returnees-year-warn-un>.

5. Kashgar, Közet, above n 3; see also OHCHR, "Thailand Must Immediately Halt Deportation Of 48 Uyghurs", above n 4; Amnesty International Canada, Urgent Action, "Thailand: Five Uyghurs still face forced return", UA 154/15, 14 March 2025 <https://amnesty.ca/urgent-actions/thailand-five-uyghurs-still-face-forced-return>.

6. Amnesty International, UA 154/15, above n 5; see also Fortify Rights, "One Year of Silence: No News Since Forced Deportation of 40 Uyghur Men from Thailand to China", 27 February 2026 <https://www.fortifyrights.org/tha-inv-stm-2026-02-27/>.

7. Amnesty International, UA 154/15, above n 5.

8. UN Special Procedures (Special Rapporteurs on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; independence of judges and lawyers; human rights of migrants; minority issues; freedom of religion or belief; torture; Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances), communication to the Government of Thailand, AL THA 2/2024, 22 February 2024 <https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=28775>.

9. Amnesty International, UA 154/15, above n 5; see also Kashgar, Közet, above n 3.

10. Amnesty International, UA 154/15, above n 5.

11. Thairath English, report on the royal pardon decree signed on 28 May 2026 and published in the Royal Gazette on 2 June 2026 <https://en.thairath.co.th/news/politic/2937005>; see also Kashgar, Közet, above n 3.

12. CRSP, MWG and TMR, Joint Statement, above n 1.

13. Ibid.

14. Khaosod English, "Kannavee urges government not to return five Uyghurs to China", 1 November 2026 <https://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2026/11/01/kannavee-urges-government-not-to-return-five-uyghurs-to-china/>.

15. CRSP, MWG and TMR, Joint Statement, above n 1.

16. Kashgar, Közet, above n 3.

17. OHCHR, "Thailand Must Immediately Halt Deportation Of 48 Uyghurs", above n 4; see also UN Special Procedures, AL THA 2/2024, above n 8.

18. Amnesty International, UA 154/15, above n 5.

19. Office of the National Security Council (Thailand), post on the courtesy call by the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China, 28 October 2026 <https://www.nsc.go.th/%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%82%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B5%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B0%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%AB-8/>; see also Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Kingdom of Thailand, account of Ambassador Zhang Jianwei's meeting with the Secretary-General of the National Security Council, 29 October 2026 <https://th.china-embassy.gov.cn/gdxw/202610/t20261029_12049246.html>; Kashgar, Közet, above n 3.

20. Voice of America, "Sorrow, frustration as US condemns deportation of Uyghurs to China", February 2025 <https://www.voanews.com/a/sorrow-frustration-as-us-condemns-deportation-of-uyghurs-to-china/7990525.html>; see also Pattaya Mail, "Chinese Embassy in Thailand confirms return of 40 Uyghurs to Xinjiang, assures legal and humane process", 28 February 2025 <https://www.pattayamail.com/thailandnews/chinese-embassy-in-thailand-confirms-return-of-40-uyghurs-to-xinjiang-assures-legal-and-humane-process-492229>; Kashgar, Közet, above n 3.

21. Khaosod English, "Two Uyghurs could face immediate repatriation from Thailand while 40 sent back are no longer reachable", 29 October 2026 <https://www.khaosodenglish.com/featured/2026/10/29/two-uyghurs-could-face-immediate-repatriation-from-thailand-while-40-sent-back-are-no-longer-reachable/>; see also ASEAN NOW, "Thailand weighs return of five Uyghur detainees", October 2026 (reporting the internal memo obtained by Khaosod English on 29 October 2026) <https://aseannow.com/thailand-news/thailand-weighs-return-of-five-uyghur-detainees-r4566>.

22. CRSP, MWG and TMR, Joint Statement, above n 1.

23. OHCHR, "Thailand Must Immediately Halt Deportation Of 48 Uyghurs", above n 4; see also OHCHR, "China's Silence Deepens Fears", above n 4; Fortify Rights, "One Year of Silence", above n 6.

24. Fortify Rights, "One Year of Silence", above n 6.

25. Amnesty International, UA 154/15, above n 5.

26. UN News, "UN agencies condemn Thailand's deportation of Uyghurs to China", 27 February 2025 (statements of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Ruvendrini Menikdiwela) <https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/02/1160586>; see also ThePrint (ANI), "UNHRC Chief condemns deportation of Uyghurs from Thailand to China, says 'clear violation of human rights laws'", 28 February 2025 <https://theprint.in/world/unhrc-chief-condemns-deportation-of-uyghurs-from-thailand-to-china-says-clear-violation-of-human-rights-laws/2515103>.

27. David Rising, Associated Press, "US says multiple offers were made to resettle Uyghurs before Thailand deported them back to China", 7 March 2025, republished by ClickOnDetroit <https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/world/2025/03/07/us-says-multiple-offers-were-made-to-resettle-uyghurs-before-thailand-deported-them-back-to-china/>.

28.  Manushya Foundation, “#SaveUyghur 🔴 #BREAKING: THAILAND DEPORTS 40 UYGHURS TO CHINA: This is Transnational Repression in Action!”, 27 February 2025 https://www.manushyafoundation.org/post/saveuyghur-breaking-thailand-secretly-deports-40-uyghurs-to-china-cctv-confirms-it. ↩

29. OHCHR, "China's Silence Deepens Fears", above n 4; see also Scoop, republication of the OHCHR press release "China's Silence Deepens Fears Over Disappeared Uyghur Returnees A Year On, Warn UN Experts", 28 February 2026 <https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO2602/S00260/chinas-silence-deepens-fears-over-disappeared-uyghur-returnees-a-year-on-warn-un-experts.htm>.

30. Fortify Rights, "One Year of Silence", above n 6.

31. CRSP, MWG and TMR, Joint Statement, above n 1; see also Prachatai English, "Thailand's deportation of 40 Uyghur refugees breaches human rights, NHRC says", 14 November 2025 <https://prachataienglish.com/node/11650>; Safeguard Defenders, "Thai Human Rights Commission: Uyghur deportation unlawful", 4 December 2025 (linking the original NHRCT release in Thai: https://www.nhrc.or.th/en/NHRC-News-and-Important-Events/16230) <https://safeguarddefenders.com/en/blog/thai-human-rights-commission-uyghur-deportation-unlawful>.

32. Prachatai English, "NHRC says", above n 30; see also Safeguard Defenders, "Uyghur deportation unlawful", above n 30.

33. CRSP, MWG and TMR, Joint Statement, above n 1; see also Prachatai English, "NHRC says", above n 30.

34. OHCHR, "UN Committee Against Torture Publishes Findings On Cameroon, Jordan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Namibia And Thailand", press release, Geneva, 22 November 2024, as republished by Scoop; Committee against Torture, Concluding observations on the second periodic report of Thailand, CAT/C/THA/CO/2, 9 December 2024, https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/4068751 <https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO2411/S00193/un-committee-against-torture-publishes-findings-on-cameroon-jordan-kuwait-mongolia-namibia-and-thailand.htm>.

35. Manushya Foundation, "HUMAN RIGHTS ALERT: Will Thailand send journalist Bai Zhaodong back to China?", 1 October 2026 <https://www.manushyafoundation.org/post/human-rights-alert-will-thailand-send-journalist-bai-zhaodong-back-to-china>.

36. Prime Minister's Office Regulation on Deportation B.E. 2569 (2026), Clause 8, signed by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on 26 August 2026, published in the Royal Gazette, Volume 143, Special Part 205 Ngor, 27 August 2026, effective 28 August 2026; see also CRSP, MWG and TMR, Joint Statement, above n 1; The Nation, "Anutin signs deportation rules effective August 28", 28 August 2026 <https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40070359>; The Thaiger, "Thailand deportation regulation takes effect today", 28 August 2026 <https://thethaiger.com/law/thailand-deportation-regulation-takes-effect-today>.

37. The Nation, "Anutin signs deportation rules", above n 35; see also The Thaiger, "Deportation regulation takes effect", above n 35.

38. Ibid.

39. Manushya Foundation, "HUMAN RIGHTS ALERT: Thailand has opened a faster pathway to transnational repression!", accessed 2 November 2026 <https://www.manushyafoundation.org/post/human-rights-alert-thailand-has-opened-a-faster-pathway-to-transnational-repression>; see also Fortify Rights, "Thailand: New Regulations on Deportations Risk Enabling Forcible Returns of Refugees", 6 August 2026 <https://www.fortifyrights.org/tha-inv-2026-08-06/>; Fortify Rights, "Thailand: New Deportation Regulations Open the Door to Refoulement of Refugees", 7 September 2026 <https://www.fortifyrights.org/tha-inv-2026-09-07/>

40. Kashgar, Közet, above n 3.

41. OHCHR, "China's Silence Deepens Fears", above n 4; see also Scoop, republication of the OHCHR release of 27 February 2026, above n 28.

42. CRSP, MWG and TMR, Joint Statement, above n 1.

43. Khaosod English, "Thailand must not yield to China over Uyghurs, Amnesty chief says", 30 October 2026 <https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2026/10/30/thailand-must-not-yield-to-china-over-uyghurs-amnesty-chief-says/>.

44. Khaosod English, "Kannavee urges government", above n 14.

45. ANI, "World Uyghur Congress warns of imminent 2 Uyghur men deportations from Thailand to China", 30 October 2026 (reporting a World Uyghur Congress press release) <https://www.aninews.in/news/world/europe/world-uyghur-congress-warns-of-imminent-2-uyghur-men-deportations-from-thailand-to-china20261030143053>.

46. UN News, "UN agencies condemn Thailand's deportation of Uyghurs", above n 26; see also Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act B.E. 2565 (2022), Sections 12 and 13, English translation, Wikisource <https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Translation:Prevention_and_Suppression_of_Torture_and_Enforced_Disappearance_Act,_2565_BE>.

47. Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act B.E. 2565 (Wikisource translation), above n 45; see also Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act B.E. 2565 (2022), English translation made available by the International Commission of Jurists <https://www.icj.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Prevention-and-Suppression-of-Torture-and-Enforced-Disappearance-Act-B.E.-2565.pdf>

48. Office of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, Press Statement, "Reaffirming human rights principle of no forced return to danger", 4 February 2025 <https://static.nhrc.or.th/file/content/document/34814/Press%20Statement%20by%20the%20National%20Human%20Rights%20Commission%20of%20Thailand%20Reaffirming%20human%20rights%20principle%20of%20no%20forced%20return%20to%20danger.pdf>.

49. Sunai Phasuk, Human Rights Watch, "UN Committee Should Press Thailand Not to Deport Refugees to Torture", 6 November 2024 <https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/11/06/un-committee-should-press-thailand-not-deport-refugees-torture>; see also ThePrint, "UNHRC Chief condemns deportation", above n 26.

50. Committee against Torture, General Comment No. 4 (2017) on the implementation of article 3 of the Convention in the context of article 22, CAT/C/GC/4, paragraph 20, as quoted in EJIL:Talk!, "A few steps forward, a few steps sideways and a few steps backwards: the CAT's revised and updated GC on non-refoulement (Part 1)" <https://www.ejiltalk.org/part-1-a-few-steps-forward-a-few-steps-sideways-and-a-few-steps-backwards-the-cats-revised-and-updated-gc-on-non-refoulement/>.

51. Fortify Rights, "A Work in Progress: Thailand's Compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights", 8 March 2017 <https://fortifyrights.org/tha-inv-rep-2017-03-08>.

52. Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 31, The Nature of the General Legal Obligation Imposed on States Parties to the Covenant, CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.13, 26 May 2004, paragraph 12 <https://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=XJNRi1DG8JRkIrG0RxWXNZgXRorFTP6WHzGW2joPtp%2FYjnKQQ3ndxTgfCtdvNJP7nuAShSI4gRuXDzbnhkDyJoh5zIV%2BHSX08YXxj30qYY4%3D>; see also UN News, "UN agencies condemn Thailand's deportation of Uyghurs", above n 26.

53. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, "Thailand deposits its instrument of ratification of the ICPPED", 16 May 2024 <https://mfa.go.th/en/content/icpped140524-2>; see also United Nations Treaty Collection, depositary notification C.N.162.2024.TREATIES-IV.16 (Thailand: ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance), 14 May 2024 <https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/CN/2024/CN.162.2024-Eng.pdf>.

54. UNTC, C.N.162.2024.TREATIES-IV.16, above n 52; see also Manushya Foundation, "Faster pathway to transnational repression", above n 38.

55. OHCHR, "China's Silence Deepens Fears", above n 4; see also Scoop, republication of the OHCHR release of 27 February 2026, above n 28.

56. UN News, "UN agencies condemn Thailand's deportation of Uyghurs", above n 26.

57. Human Rights Watch, "UN Committee Should Press Thailand", above n 48.

58. OHCHR, "China's Silence Deepens Fears", above n 4; see also Prachatai English, "NHRC says", above n 30.

59. CRSP, MWG and TMR, Joint Statement, above n 1; see also ANI, "World Uyghur Congress warns", above n 44.

60. CRSP, MWG and TMR, Joint Statement, above n 1.

61. Amnesty International, UA 154/15, above n 5; see also Manushya Foundation, "Faster pathway to transnational repression", above n 38.

62. CRSP, MWG and TMR, Joint Statement, above n 1.

63. CRSP, MWG and TMR, Joint Statement, above n 1; see also The Nation, "Anutin signs deportation rules", above n 35.

64. CRSP, MWG and TMR, Joint Statement, above n 1; see also Prachatai English, "NHRC says", above n 30.

65. Manushya Foundation, "Faster pathway to transnational repression", above n 38.

66. OHCHR, "China's Silence Deepens Fears", above n 4; see also Scoop, republication of the OHCHR release of 27 February 2026, above n 28.

67. UPR Info, timetable of the 53rd session of the Universal Periodic Review Working Group (Thailand: Monday 9 November 2026, 14:30 to 18:00; adoption Friday 13 November 2026) <https://upr-info.org/sites/default/files/general-document/2025-12/timetable_upr_53.pdf>; see also Amnesty International, "Thailand: Promises made, Rights denied: Submission to the 53rd session of the UPR Working Group, 2-13 November 2026", ASA 39/0853/2026, 3 April 2026 <https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa39/0853/2026/en/>.

68. Government Public Relations Department of Thailand, "Thailand Elected as Member of the HRC for the term 2025-2027", 11 October 2024 <https://thailand.prd.go.th/en/content/category/detail/id/49/iid/331484>.

 
 
bottom of page