[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1252 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1252
To support the human rights of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic
groups residing primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and
safeguard their distinct civilization and identity, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 20, 2023
Mr. Rubio introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To support the human rights of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic
groups residing primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and
safeguard their distinct civilization and 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 Chinese Communist Party continues to repress the
distinct Turkic identity of Uyghurs and members of other
predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region and in other areas where they have habitually
resided.
(2) Uyghurs, and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups
make up the majority of the indigenous population in the area
that the Chinese Communist Party has designated as the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Throughout their history,
Uyghurs and other predominately Muslim ethnic groups have
maintained a civilization that was distinct from the Chinese.
For centuries, these Turkic groups were not under Chinese rule.
(3) Human rights, including freedom of religion or belief,
and the preservation of and respect for the Uyghurs' unique
Turkic and Islamic civilization and identity are legitimate
interests of the international community.
(4) The People's Republic of China (PRC) has ratified the
International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural
Rights, done at New York December 16, 1966, and is thereby
bound by its provisions. China 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 Chinese migration
into the XUAR has placed immense pressure on those who seek to
preserve the ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic
traditions of the Uyghurs people. Chinese authorities have
supported an influx of Chinese economic immigrants into the
XUAR, discriminated against Uyghurs in hiring practices, and
provided unequal access to healthcare services.
(6) The Chinese Communist Party has manipulated the
strategic objectives of the international war on terror to mask
their increasing cultural and religious oppression of the
predominantly Muslim population residing in the XUAR.
(7) Following unrest in the region, in 2014, the Chinese
Communist Party launched its ``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.
(8) Chinese Communist Party officials 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 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 who remain in the PRC have gone
missing or have 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 ethnic groups have been imprisoned
in extrajudicial ``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 that the only way to secure release was to
demonstrate sufficient political loyalty to 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 Chinese
Communist Party has committed genocide and crimes against
humanity against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious groups
in the XUAR.
(15) Government bodies of multiple nations have also
declared that Chinese Communist Party 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. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to press for authorities in China to open the XUAR to
regular, transparent, and unmanipulated visits by members of
the press, Members of Congress, congressional staff
delegations, and members and staff of the Congressional-
Executive Commission on the People's Republic of China and the
U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission;
(2) to strive to ensure the preservation of the distinct
ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic identity of Uyghurs
and members of other ethnic and religious groups in the XUAR;
(3) to urge other nations to call for the cessation of 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) to commend countries that have provided shelter and
hospitality to Uyghurs in exile, including Turkey, Albania, and
Germany; and
(5) to urge countries with sizeable Muslim populations,
given commonalities in their religious and cultural identities,
to demonstrate concern over the plight of Uyghurs.
SEC. 4. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD WITH RESPECT TO THE
UYGHUR SITUATION.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State, working through the
Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs,
shall support, through the United States Speaker Program, human rights
advocates representing Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and
religious groups persecuted in the PRC to speak at public diplomacy
forums in Muslim-majority countries and other regions about issues
regarding the human rights and religious freedom of Uyghurs and members
of other ethnic and religious groups that are being persecuted in the
PRC.
(b) Consultation Requirement.--The Assistant Secretary of State for
Educational and Cultural Affairs shall consult with representatives of
the global Uyghur community when selecting participants for the
activity described in subsection (a).
(c) Media Activities.--The Secretary of State, in consultation with
the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Agency for Global
Media, should facilitate the unhindered dissemination of information to
Muslim-majority countries about issues regarding the human rights and
religious freedom of Uyghurs and members of other groups in the XUAR.
SEC. 5. STRATEGY TO INCREASE ACCESS TO DETENTION FACILITIES AND PRISONS
AND SECURE THE RELEASE OF PRISONERS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall develop and submit
to Congress a strategy to support and secure the release of political
prisoners detained in the PRC.
(b) Elements.--The strategy required under subsection (a) shall
include--
(1) a detailed description of how the United States
Government can pressure the PRC to immediately close all
detention facilities and ``political reeducation'' camps
housing Uyghurs and members of other ethnic minority groups in
the XUAR;
(2) a detailed assessment of how the United States can
leverage its contributions to the United Nations to 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;
(3) a detailed description of how the United States
Government will work with other like-minded countries to
pressure the PRC to immediately stop the genocide of Uyghurs
and other ethnic groups in the XUAR; and
(4) a detailed plan for how United States Government
officials can use meetings with representatives of the Chinese
Communist Party to demand 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.
(c) Form.--The strategy required under subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form.
SEC. 6. REQUIREMENT FOR UYGHUR LANGUAGE TRAINING.
The Secretary of State shall ensure that--
(1) Uyghur language training is available to Foreign
Service officers, as appropriate; and
(2) every effort is being made to ensure that a Uyghur-
speaking member of the Foreign Service (as 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
the PRC, Turkey, and other nations hosting Uyghur populations.
SEC. 7. UYGHUR CONSIDERATIONS AT THE UNITED NATIONS.
The Secretary of State and the United States Permanent
Representative to the United Nations shall use the voice, vote, and
influence of the United States at the United Nations--
(1) to oppose any efforts--
(A) to prevent consideration of the issues related
to the XUAR in any body of the United Nations; and
(B) 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
(2) to support the appointment of a special rapporteur or
working group for the XUAR for the purposes of--
(A) monitoring human rights violations and abuses
in the XUAR; and
(B) making reports available to the High
Commissioner for Refugees, the High Commissioner for
Human Rights, the General Assembly, and other United
Nations bodies.
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