UN Refugee Agency Allegedly Declines to Assist Uyghur Asylum Seekers Detained in Thailand

According to leaked internal documents, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has declined Thailand’s request to help nearly 50 Uyghur asylum seekers who have been held in the country’s detention centers for a decade, RFA reported yesterday.

The UNHCR reportedly denied the request due to concerns over potential Chinese disapproval.

The 48 Uyghurs were among over 500 members of the predominantly Muslim minority who fled China’s Xinjiang region to Southeast Asia in 2013-2014, hoping to be resettled in Turkey. However, over 100 were subsequently sent back to China.

While the Thai government has allegedly sought the UNHCR’s assistance, the agency advised against it, according to the independent news outlet The New Humanitarian.