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On June 17, President Trump personally signed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act following its approval in both the House and Senate in late May. This policy is the first in the entire world to directly acknowledge and condemn the mass internment of millions of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, commonly referred to as East Turkistan by Uyghur citizens. The situation in Xinjiang is considered one of the worst- if not the worst- current challenge to human rights in the world, as reports of physical torture and abuse, sterilization of women, sexual assault, and forced labor have exposed just how inhumane the Chinese government treats their own citizens, simply for their status as ethnic and sometimes religious minorities, in an attempt to eradicate “separatism.” The text of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act has not yet been released, but will be able to be located at the link below:
Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act
Another landmark bill that is currently making its way through the House and Senate after being introduced by Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Jim McGovern in March is the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which, according to Uyghur Human Rights Project, “required sanctions on officials and companies responsible for Uyghur forced labor, and shifts the burden of proof to importers, which must provide ‘clear and convincing’ evidence that imported goods from East Turkistan are free from forced labor.” Below if the text of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act:
BILLS-116s3471is-1Jubilee Campaign recently drafted a submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief on the persecution of and discrimination against Uyghurs in China, which can be found at the link below: