Corrections 14:05  Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) has denounced Cambodia’s forced return to China of 20 ethnic Uighur asylum-seekers before their claims were heard. The Geneva-based organization said it was “deeply distressed” at the news and concerned that “a disturbing pattern of such cases is increasingly evident around the world.”

Human rights groups condemn deportation

The 20 were deported Saturday 19 December as illegal immirants, reports Reuters AlertNet, an information service for humanitarian organizations. The move coincides with a trade visit  to Cambodia by Chinese Vice-president Xi Jinping 21 December. Reuters AlertNet quotes a faxed statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, received by Reuters: “Recently, Cambodia deported 20 Chinese citizens in accordance with immigration laws for illegal entry into Cambodia. China received these people in accordance with usual practices,” but the statement also links the immigration crime to smuggling.

Several human rights groups have condemned the deportations, and US State Department’s spokesman Gordon Duguid says the US is “deeply disturbed” by the decision and the lack of appropriate participation by the UNHCR which, he warns, will affect its relations with Cambodia.”Now that the group has been returned to China,” says Duguid, “we urge the government of China to uphold international norms and to ensure transparency, due process and proper treatment of persons in its territory.”

The UNHCR notes in a press release that “States are bound by the principle of non-refoulement, which applies to both those recognized as refugees and those seeking asylum. The forced return of asylum-seekers without a full examination of their asylum claims is a serious breach of international refugee law.”

Cambodia’s decision follows praise from the UNHCR only a 14 months ago when it said Cambodia was “on track to become a refugee model for Southeast Asia.”

China praises relations with Cambodia

China’s foreign minister, Xi Jinping, late Sunday praised his country’s relations with Cambodia, but made no reference to the refugees. China’ English-language media do not carry the news nor does the foreign ministry mention it. China is Cambodia’s biggest foreign investor, reports Reuters.

The refugees are ethnic Uighurs from Xinjiang province. The refugees had sought asylum at the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Uighurs fled China in the wake of ethnic unrest in July 2009 in Urumqi, XinJiang’s capital, which left more than 200 dead. The Chinese have executed a number of ethnic Uighurs who were condemned for murder and rioting in July.

Iraq warnings sounded

The deportation of the Uighurs from Cambodia follows a plea from UNHCR in the past week to the international community not to forcibly return asylum-seekers who originate from several parts of Iraq. The call came in its first update to recommendations for the region since April 2009. It points out that despite government efforts the situation in parts of Iraq remains “precarious” and “countries need to refrain from forcibly returning Iraqis originating from the region of Central Iraq back to those governorates deemed to be unsafe, namely – Baghdad, Ninewa, Salah al Din, Diyala, Tameem (Kirkuk).” The revised list followed a series of bombings earlier in December that killed scores of people.

European Union warned not to forget refugee rights

The UNHCR’s growing concern about refugees being sent home without a proper hearing is behind a warning it issued the European Union (EU) 11 December. It said in a press release that the EU must “ensure that migration management objectives do not overshadow refugee protection principles.” At the same time, it praised the EU for adopting the Stockholm Programme, which sets EU priorities on a number of issues, including asylum, from 2010 to 2014, and for creating a European Asylum Support office, which should provide better coordination of asylum policies. “But Member States should demonstrate more solidarity with countries hosting large refugee populations outside the EU, including through resettlement.

Links to other sites: AFP, Al-Jazeera, CNN, UNHCR, US Mission in Geneva

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