U.S. Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio said he would lobby Thailand to prevent the deportation of 48 Uyghurs to China, where they could face persecution.
On January 15, 2025, during Marco Rubio’s Senate confirmation hearing for his nomination as U.S. Secretary of State, he said that he would lobby Thailand against deporting 48 Uyghurs to China, where they could face persecution.
Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Thailand was “on the verge” of sending the Uyghurs back to Thailand. And “will you lobby for Thailand to not send these Uyghurs back to the horror they will face if they’re returned?” he asked Rubio.
Rubio, a hawk on China policy, said he would. “Yes, and the good news is that Thailand is actually a very strong U.S. partner — strong historical ally as well — so that is an area where I think diplomacy could really achieve results because of how important that relationship is and how close it is,” he said.
— Uygur News (@Uygur_News) January 16, 2025
Rubio called the situation in Thailand “one more opportunity for us to remind the world” about the persecution Uyghurs face. “This is not some obscure issue,” Rubio told the committee. “These are people who are basically being rounded up because of their ethnicity and religion and they are being put into camps. They’re being sent to what they call reeducation centers.”
Rubio added the following about the Uyghurs: “They’re being stripped of their identity. Their children’s names are being changed. It’s one of the most horrifying things that has ever happened. They have been and are being put into forced labor.”
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