The United States Department of State spokesman John Kirby said in a press statement on Thursday that the U.S. condemns Thailand's forced deportation of over 100 ethnic Uighurs to China and expresses concerns about the mistreatment of refugees.
Stating that Thailand's action is against the enforced international obligations and the country's "long-standing practice of providing safe havens to vulnerable people", spokesman Kirby urged the Thai government and other countries not to carry out further refoulement of Uighur refugees.
Stressing the importance of human rights, the U.S. government stated that humanitarian organizations should have 'unfettered access' to provide asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants necessary humanitarian aid and protection.
Kirby also called on China to give due process to those reported and added that Thailand should allow the remaining Uighurs to depart to a country of their choice.
This condemnation, is not a first by the U.S, especially since the military coup last year the U.S.-Thailand relations remain strained.
On Thursday, Thailand deported more than 100 ethnic Uighurs back to China on Thursday, ignoring calls from the international community to protect the group and ensure they were not forced back to face possible persecution by the Chinese government.
The Uighurs are a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority in China's far west Xinjiang region. The group has complained of cultural and religious suppression as well as economic marginalization under Chinese rule.
East Turkistan, known as the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, is located in northwest China. Uighurs have long suffered from human rights abuses, with 26.3 million people being killed between 1949 and 1965 and 8.7 million people since 1965.
About 35 million people have died because of the Chinese army's oppression or famine. Wearing a headscarf in public, including on public transportation and when getting married in a religious ceremony, were banned in 2014, with a fine of about $353 for wearing a headscarf in public.
According to a Uighur Human Rights Project report, 700 people were killed due to political activities last year. The number of those arrests increased 95 percent compared to the previous year, reaching 27,000.
