What changed

B100191/2025

B100174/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on democracy and human rights in Thailand, notably the lese-majesty law and the deportation of Uyghur refugees

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on ChinaThailand and Thailand;on Uyghurs in China,

– having regard to RuleRules 150(5) of its RoP,Rules of Procedure,

whereas on 27 February 2025, the Thai authorities reportedly deported 48 Uyghur refugees to China,

whereas Thailand's lèse-majesté provisions under Article 112 of the Criminal Code are among the strictest in the world and not in line with the country’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

whereas China’s treatment of ethnic minorities has been widely condemned by the international community and Uyghur refugees are fleeing persecution, mass arbitrary detention, forced labour, and systematic repression in Xinjiang;

whereas in February 2025, Thailand secretly deported 40 Uyghurs to China following 10 years of detention in inhumane conditions;

whereas the forced return of asylum seekers to a country where they face persecution violates the principle of non-refoulement under international human rights and refugee law;

Strongly condemns that Thailand’s draconian lèse-majesté laws continue to be used to stifle dissent, legitimate political discussions and persecute human rights and democracy defenders, civil society activists, journalists, others and even children;

whereas under Thailands criminal code, criticism of the monarchy in punishable with 3 to 15 years in prison;

Urges Thailand to promptly release and drop charges against all political prisoners and activists detained as a consequence of exercising their freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly, including those charged with lèse-majesté, including Arnon Nampa, co-founder of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR);

whereas Canada and US offered to take the 48 people;

Urges the Thai authorities to repeal its lèse-majesté provisions, including the outrageously disproportionate punishments;

Strongly condemns the deportation of Uyghur refugees and calls on the Thai authorities to immediately halt any further forced returns of Uyghur asylum seekers and refugees;

Condemns the deportation by Thailand of the group of 40 Uyghurs to China, where they could face torture, forced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and long-term imprisonment, in breach of the principle of non-refoulement and Thailand’s obligations under national and international law as a member of the Human Rights Council;

Calls on the Thailand authorities to provide information on the whereabouts and legal status of the eight remaining Uyghur refugees who have not yet been deported;

Regrets that, despite offers from safe third countries to host the Uyghurs, Thai authorities yielded to Chinese pressure and carried out the forced returns;

Urges the EU to explore diplomatic measures to ensure it complies with international refugee protection obligations;

Urges authorities to immediately put a halt to all deportations of Uyghurs, as well as Rohingya, political dissidents from Laos, Burma and Cambodia, and other asylum seekers, who face heightened risks at their countries of origin and to ensure their protection and fair asylum procedures guaranteed under international human rights law;

Expresses deep concern for the safety and well-being of the deported Uyghur refugees and calls on China to guarantee their fundamental rights, ensure transparency regarding their whereabouts, and allow independent observers access to verify their conditions;

Reiterates its calls urging Thailand to sign and ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 protocol;

Urges the Thai government to fully adhere to the principle of non-refoulement and to establish a transparent, fair, and humane asylum system in cooperation with international agencies;

Urges China to allow the OHCHR and other international observers independent and unhindered access to XUAR and to the group of forcibly returned men to enquire about their safety;

Calls on EU Member States to offer international protection to Uyghur refugees and to increase global coordination to protect Uyghur refugees at risk of deportation;

Urges the Chinese Government to put an immediate end to the practice of arbitrary detention without charge, trial or conviction for a criminal offence of members of the Uyghur and other Muslim minorities, to close all detention and re-education centres, and to immediately and unconditionally release those detained, including the 40 deported Uyghurs, Gulshan Abbas and Sakarov Prize winner Ilham Tohti, and to ensure that until then they have access to family, lawyers of their choice and adequate healthcare;

Demands that the UNHCR be granted full and unrestricted access to Uyghur asylum seekers in Thailand to assess their protection needs; urges Thailand to collaborate with UNHCR and third countries offering to provide asylum to the remaining Uyghur refugees, once their sentence is completed

Urges Member States to address the transnational repression of Chinese dissidents and Uyghurs on their territory, to prosecute individuals responsible and to suspend extradition treaties with the PRC;

Encourages the EU to reviewReiterates its relations withcalls Thailandon inthe lightEU ofCouncil theseto humanadopt rightstargeted violationssanctions andagainst toall conditionofficials closerresponsible cooperationfor onBeijing’s improvementscrimes inagainst thehumanity protectionand ofother refugeesserious andhuman asylumrights seekers;abuses;

Reiterates its call for the PRC to end its systematic repression of Uyghurs and to allow an independent international investigation into human rights abuses in Xinjiang;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to all relevant parties;

Calls for an official statement from the EU denouncing Thailand’s complicity in China’s transnational repression of Uyghurs; Urges the EU and the Member States to adopt sanctions against high-ranking officials and entities involved in human rights violations in China;

Calls on Thailand to revoke the lese majesty laws and to sign and ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Governments and Parliaments of Thailand and to China, the EC, the EEAS, the UNSG, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.