One Year After Forced Return, No Word on Their Fate
December 17, 2010
Source: Human Rights Watch
"Uighurs deported to China are at clear risk of torture." - Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.
(New York) - The Chinese government should account for a group of 20 ethnic Uighurs deported from Cambodia one year ago, Human Rights Watch said today. Over the past year, the Chinese government has consistently refused to provide information about the group's status and well-being.
On December 19, 2009, Cambodia forcibly repatriated 20 Uighur asylum seekers fleeing a crackdown in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China. The group, which had expressed fear of persecution and torture if sent back to China, had been issued "Persons of Concern" letters by the Phnom Penh office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), which should have prevented their forced return to possible persecution, known as refoulement. Despite this, the group, which included two young children, was forced aboard a plane in Phnom Penh chartered by the Chinese government.
"Uighurs deported to China are at clear risk of torture," said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "China's failure to account for any of those asylum seekers a year after their forced return is extremely worrying."
Please click here to read more...
On December 19, 2009, Cambodia forcibly repatriated 20 Uighur asylum seekers fleeing a crackdown in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China. The group, which had expressed fear of persecution and torture if sent back to China, had been issued "Persons of Concern" letters by the Phnom Penh office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), which should have prevented their forced return to possible persecution, known as refoulement. Despite this, the group, which included two young children, was forced aboard a plane in Phnom Penh chartered by the Chinese government.
"Uighurs deported to China are at clear risk of torture," said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "China's failure to account for any of those asylum seekers a year after their forced return is extremely worrying."
Please click here to read more...
No comments:
Post a Comment