Canada and the United States offered to resettle 48 ethnic Uyghurs held in detention in Thailand over the past decade, sources told Reuters, but Bangkok took no action for fear of upsetting China, where they were covertly deported last week.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand acted in accordance with human rights when it sent 40 Uyghurs back to China last week, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra told reporters on Monday. "We actually did everything correctly on human rights," she said.

The secret deportation by Thailand of dozens of Uyghur men to China that has sparked international condemnation is a diplomatic win for Beijing and a snub to the United States and the United Nations,

The Chinese embassy in Thailand has confirmed that a group of Uyghur men detained in Thailand for more than a decade have been deported to China.

Rights groups criticized the Thai government for sending the Uyghurs, a persecuted Muslim minority, back to China, where they face the risk of torture and imprisonment.

China confirmed Thailand deported 40 Chinese nationals on Thursday, despite human rights organizations and members of the U.S. government called on Bangkok to not repatriate the Uyghur Muslims.

Human rights groups warned that the Uyghurs, who were held in Bangkok for more than a decade, will face mistreatment from Chinese authorities back in Xinjiang.

Thai human rights advocates on Tuesday voiced their disapproval regarding the government's decision to deport 40 Uyghurs back to China, asserting that the United Nations should consider expelling Thailand from its Human Rights Council,