Thai authorities have denied any immediate plan to send 48 Uyghur refugees back to China after UN experts urged a stop. Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim minority in China.

Human rights advocates are demanding to know why the UN’s refugee agency hasn’t done more to secure the Uyghurs’ right to asylum.

BANGKOK: Thai authorities denied on Wednesday (Jan 22) there was an immediate plan to send back to China 48 Uyghurs held in the country's detention centres, after UN experts warned the group could face torture if they return.

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) alleged that Thailand have consistently violated its prisoners' right to health under international law, in a report submitted to the UN Special

US President Donald Trump's incoming secretary of state is among those calling for Thailand not to deport a group Uyghurs to China, where it is feared they would face persecution.

With Thailand set to become the biggest nation in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage on Thursday, we look at the situation across the globe.

The experts’ statement comes less than a week after Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said he would lobby Thailand against deporting the 48 Uyghurs to China during a hearing on his nomination for the post of U.S. secretary of state, which he was confirmed for on Monday.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on Thailand to immediately stop the planned deportation of 48 Uyghurs to China, citing serious risks of torture and inhumane treatment.

Thailand and China are collaborating to combat illegal call centres along their borders, tackling phone scams and human trafficking.

United Nations human rights experts have urged Thailand not to send 48 Uyghurs in its custody back to China, warning they are at risk of torture, ill-treatment and "irreparable harm" if returned. Human rights groups and some Thai lawmakers have raised concerns in the past week that the transfer to China of the Uyghurs,

Thailand marked a historic milestone as 1,832 same-sex couples registered their marriages nationwide on January 23, 2025, the first day of the Marriage Equality Act implementation.