[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2766 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2766
To support the human rights of Uyghurs and members of other minority
groups residing primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and
safeguard their distinct identity, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 20, 2023
Mrs. Kim of California (for herself, Mr. Bera, Mrs. Radewagen, Mr.
Sherman, Mr. Hill, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Phillips, Mr.
Fitzpatrick, Mr. Peters, Ms. Titus, Ms. Norton, Mr. Armstrong, Mr.
Keating, Mr. Costa, Ms. Wild, Ms. Tokuda, and Ms. Wexton) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To support the human rights of Uyghurs and members of other minority
groups residing primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and
safeguard their distinct identity, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Uyghur Policy Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The People's Republic of China (PRC) continues to
repress the distinct Islamic, Turkic identity of Uyghurs and
members of other minority groups of the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region (XUAR) in northwestern China and other areas
of their habitual residence.
(2) Uyghurs, and other predominantly Muslim ethnic
minorities historically making up the majority of the XUAR
population, have maintained throughout their history a distinct
religious and cultural identity.
(3) Human rights, including freedom of religion or belief,
and respect for the Uyghurs' unique Muslim identity are
legitimate interests of the international community.
(4) The People's Republic of China has ratified the
International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
and is thereby bound by its provisions. The PRC has also signed
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Article One of both covenants state that all peoples have the
right to self-determination.
(5) An official campaign to encourage Han Chinese migration
into the XUAR has placed immense pressure on those who seek to
preserve the ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic
traditions of the Uyghur people. Chinese authorities have
supported an influx of Han Chinese economic immigrants into the
XUAR, implemented discrimination against Uyghurs in hiring
practices, and provided unequal access to healthcare services.
(6) The authorities of the People's Republic of China have
manipulated the strategic objectives of the international war
on terror to mask their increasing cultural and religious
oppression of the Muslim population residing in the XUAR.
(7) Following unrest in the region, in 2014, Chinese
authorities launched their ``Strike Hard against Violent
Extremism'' campaign, in which dubious allegations of
widespread extremist activity were used as justification for
gross human rights violations committed against members of the
Uyghur community in the XUAR.
(8) PRC authorities have made use of the legal system as a
tool of repression, including for the imposition of arbitrary
detentions and for torture against members of the Uyghur
community and other populations.
(9) Uyghurs and Kazakhs who have secured citizenship or
permanent residency outside of the PRC have attested to
repeated threats, harassment, and surveillance by PRC
officials.
(10) Reporting from international news organizations has
found that over the past decade, family members of Uyghurs
living outside of the PRC have gone missing or been detained to
force Uyghur expatriates to return to the PRC or silence their
dissent.
(11) Credible evidence from human rights organizations,
think tanks, and journalists confirms that more than 1,000,000
Uyghurs and members of other Muslim ethnic minority groups have
been imprisoned in ``political reeducation'' centers.
(12) Independent accounts from former detainees of
``political reeducation'' centers describe inhumane conditions
and treatment including forced political indoctrination,
torture, beatings, rape, forced sterilization, and food
deprivation. Former detainees also confirmed that they were
told by guards the only way to secure release was to
demonstrate sufficient political loyalty to the PRC Government
and the Chinese Communist Party.
(13) Popular discourse surrounding the ongoing atrocities
in the XUAR and advocacy efforts to assist Uyghurs remains
muted in most Muslim majority nations around the world.
(14) Both Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Former
Secretary of State Michael Pompeo have stated that the PRC
Government has committed genocide and crimes against humanity
against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in
the XUAR.
(15) Government bodies of multiple nations have also
declared that PRC Government atrocities against such
populations in the XUAR constitute genocide, including the
parliaments of the United Kingdom, Belgium, Czechia, Lithuania,
the Netherlands, and Canada.
SEC. 3. DECLARATIONS OF POLICY.
Congress--
(1) calls upon the Government of the People's Republic of
China to open the XUAR to regular, transparent, and
unmanipulated visits by members of the press, Members of
Congress, congressional staff delegations, the United States
Special Coordinator for Uyghur Issues under section 4, and
members and staff of the Congressional-Executive Commission on
the People's Republic of China;
(2) calls upon the Government of the People's Republic of
China to recognize, and seek to ensure the preservation of, the
distinct ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic identity
of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority
groups in the XUAR;
(3) calls upon the Government of the People's Republic of
China to cease all government-sponsored crackdowns,
imprisonments, and detentions of people throughout the XUAR
aimed at those involved in the peaceful expression of their
ethnic, cultural, political, or religious identity;
(4) commends countries that have provided shelter and
hospitality to Uyghurs in exile, including Turkey, Albania, and
Germany; and
(5) urges countries with sizeable Muslim populations, given
commonalities in their religious and cultural identities, to
demonstrate concern over the plight of Uyghurs.
SEC. 4. UNITED STATES SPECIAL COORDINATOR FOR UYGHUR ISSUES.
(a) In General.--There is authorized to be within the Department of
State a United States Special Coordinator for Uyghur Issues (in this
section referred to as the ``Special Coordinator''), to be designated
by the Secretary of State in accordance with subsection (b).
(b) Consultation.--The Secretary of State shall consult with the
Chairs and Ranking Members of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives prior to the designation of the Special Coordinator.
(c) Central Objective.--The Special Coordinator should seek to
promote the protection and preservation of the distinct ethnic,
cultural, religious, and linguistic identities of the Uyghurs.
(d) Duties and Responsibilities.--The Special Coordinator should,
as appropriate--
(1) coordinate United States Government policies, programs,
and projects concerning the Uyghurs;
(2) vigorously promote the policy of seeking to protect the
distinct ethnic, religious, cultural, and linguistic identity
of the Uyghurs and seek improved respect for human rights in
the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR);
(3) maintain close contact with Uyghur religious, cultural,
and political leaders, including seeking regular travel to the
XUAR and to Uyghur populations in Central Asia, Turkey,
Albania, Germany, and other parts of Europe;
(4) lead coordination efforts for the release of political
prisoners in the XUAR who are being detained for exercising
their human rights;
(5) consult with the United States Congress on policies
relevant to the XUAR and the Uyghurs;
(6) coordinate with relevant Federal agencies to administer
aid to Uyghur rights advocates; and
(7) make efforts to establish contacts with foreign
ministries of other countries, especially in Europe, Central
Asia, and members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation,
to pursue a policy of promoting greater respect for human
rights and religious freedom for Uyghurs and other ethnic and
religious minority groups persecuted in the PRC.
(e) Support.--The Secretary of State shall ensure the Special
Coordinator has adequate resources, staff, and administrative support
to carry out this section.
(f) Deadline.--If the Secretary of State has not designated the
Special Coordinator by the date that is 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate a report detailing the reasons for the
delay.
(g) Termination.--This section shall terminate on the date that is
five years after the designation of the Special Coordinator.
SEC. 5. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD ON THE UYGHUR SITUATION.
(a) Funding for Human Rights Advocates.--Of the amounts authorized
to be appropriated for the U.S. Speaker Program in the Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State, $250,000
for each of fiscal years 2024, 2025, and 2026 is authorized to be
available for human rights advocates on behalf of the Uyghurs and
members of other ethnic and religious minority groups persecuted in the
PRC, whose names may be provided by the Department of State and the
United States Special Coordinator for Uyghur Issues in consultation
with representatives of the global Uyghur community, to speak at public
diplomacy forums in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries and
other regions on issues regarding the human rights and religious
freedom of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority
groups persecuted in the PRC.
(b) United States Agency for Global Media.--It is the sense of
Congress that the United States Agency for Global Media should
facilitate the unhindered dissemination of information to Organisation
of Islamic Cooperation countries on issues regarding the human rights
and religious freedom of Uyghurs and members of other minority groups
in the XUAR.
SEC. 6. ACCESS TO DETENTION FACILITIES AND PRISONS AND THE RELEASE OF
PRISONERS.
(a) Sense of Congress on Political Reeducation and Detention
Facilities.--It is the sense of Congress that the United States
Government should, in cooperation with other like-minded countries,
develop a strategy to--
(1) pressure the People's Republic of China to immediately
close all detention facilities and ``political reeducation''
camps housing Uyghurs and members of other ethnic minority
groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR); and
(2) support the United Nations Commissioner for Human
Rights and numerous United Nations Special Rapporteurs' urgent
calls for immediate and unhindered access to detention
facilities and ``political reeducation'' camps in the XUAR by
independent international organizations and the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for a
comprehensive assessment of the human rights situation.
(b) Sense of Congress on Prison Access and Prisoner Release.--It is
the sense of Congress that the President and Secretary of State, in
meetings with representatives of the Government of the People's
Republic of China, should--
(1) request the immediate and unconditional release of all
prisoners detained for their ethnic, cultural, religious, and
linguistic identities, or for expressing their political or
religious beliefs in the XUAR;
(2) seek access for international humanitarian
organizations, including the International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies, to prisoners in the XUAR to
ensure such prisoners are not being mistreated and are
receiving necessary medical care; and
(3) seek the immediate release of all prisoners who have
been arbitrarily detained and sentenced without due process,
including Ekpar Asat, who participated in the Department of
State's International Visitors Leadership Program in 2016, was
incarcerated after returning to the XUAR, and is now serving a
15 year prison sentence on charges of ``inciting ethnic hatred
and ethnic discrimination''.
SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT FOR UYGHUR LANGUAGE TRAINING.
The Secretary of State shall ensure that Uyghur language training
is available to Foreign Service officers as appropriate, and that every
effort is made to ensure that a Uyghur-speaking member of the Foreign
Service (as such term is described in section 103 of the Foreign
Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3903)) is assigned to United States
diplomatic and consular missions in China.
SEC. 8. UYGHUR CONSIDERATIONS AT THE UNITED NATIONS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States Government should oppose any efforts
to prevent consideration of the issues related to the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in any body of the United
Nations;
(2) the United States Government should oppose any efforts
to prevent the participation of any Uyghur human rights
advocates in nongovernmental fora hosted by or otherwise
organized under the auspices of any body of the United Nations;
and
(3) the Secretary of State should instruct the United
States Permanent Representative to the United Nations to
support the appointment of a special rapporteur or working
group for the XUAR for the purposes of monitoring human rights
violations and abuses in the XUAR, and for making reports
available to the High Commissioner for Refugees, the High
Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights Commission, the
General Assembly, and other United Nations bodies.
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