The UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, expressed
grave concern about the forcible return of 20 ethnic Uyghurs from
Cambodia to China. The deportees were seeking asylum in Cambodia after
having fled China during the past few months, following clashes between
Uyghurs and Han, in the Xinjiang region in July 2009.
(Source: OHCHR, 22 December 2009)
The UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, expressed
grave concern about the forcible return of 20 ethnic Uyghurs from
Cambodia to China. The deportees were seeking asylum in Cambodia after
having fled China during the past few months, following clashes between
Uyghurs and Han, in the Xinjiang region in July 2009.
"In
light of the reports of severe torture I have received following the
July events and the recent executions in the Xinjiang region in
violation of the most basic fair trial guarantees, this is a blatant
violation of Cambodia's obligations under the principle of
non-refoulement as stipulated in article 3 of the UN Convention against
torture," stressed the UN expert.
"The situation is aggravated
by the fact that I had reminded the Government of Cambodia beforehand
by means of an urgent communication of their international
obligations," added Nowak.
The decision to deport the 20 persons
to China pre-empted the result of their asylum requests for which all
of them were waiting. "This means," said the Special Rapporteur, "that
the Cambodian authorities have also knowingly prevented an objective
determination of their refugee status under the Geneva Convention on
refugees and whether the deportees would be at risk of torture, other
forms of ill-treatment or the death penalty."
"I am calling on
the Chinese authorities to treat the 20 persons humanely upon return in
accordance with international standards, to grant access to them in
case they are detained and to afford them due process guarantees, if
charged with criminal offenses", urged the Special Rapporteur.
Note: In
a separate statement also published today, the UN Independent Expert on
minority issues, Ms. Gay McDougall, has called upon the Government of
China to grant her access to assess ethnic tensions and violence in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, at the earliest opportunity. You
can find McDougall's statement at http://www.ohchr.org
