Introduced in Senate — S. 1542

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1542

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

April 30, 2025

Mr. Curtis 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 minority groups residing primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, to 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 2025.

Sec. 2. Findings

Congress finds the following:

(1)

The People’s Republic of China (referred to in this Act as the PRC) continues to repress the distinct Islamic, Turkic identity of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (referred to in this Act as the XUAR) in northwestern China and other areas in which they have habitually residided.

(2)

Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities historically making up the majority of the XUAR population have maintained a distinct religious and cultural identity throughout their history.

(3)

Human rights, including the freedom of religion or belief, and respect for the Uyghurs’ unique Muslim identity are legitimate interests of the international community.

(4)

The PRC—

(A)

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; and

(B)

has also signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, done at New York December 19, 1966.

(5)

An official campaign to encourage Han Chinese migration into the XUAR has placed immense pressure on Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups who seek to preserve their unique ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic traditions.

(6)

PRC authorities have supported an influx of Han Chinese economic immigrants into the XUAR, implemented discrimination against Uyghurs and other minorities in hiring practices, and provided unequal access to healthcare services.

(7)

PRC authorities 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.

(8)

In 2014, following unrest in the XUAR, Chinese authorities launched the 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 Uyghurs and members of other minority communities in the XUAR.

(9)

PRC authorities have made use of the legal system as a tool of repression, including for the imposition of arbitrary detentions and torture against members of the Uyghur community and other minority populations.

(10)

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.

(11)

Reporting from international news organizations has found that during the past decade, family members of Uyghurs and other minority groups living outside of the PRC have gone missing or been detained to force Uyghur expatriates to return to the PRC or silence their dissent.

(12)

In 2017, Radio Free Asia’s Uyghur Service was the first media organization to report on the PRC’s vast, mass arbitrary-detention program in the XUAR.

(13)

Credible evidence from human rights organizations, think tanks, and journalists confirms that more than 1,000,000 Uyghurs and members of other ethnic minority groups have been imprisoned in extrajudicial political reeducation centers.

(14)

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.

(15)

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 Government of the PRC.

(16)

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.

(17)

Former Secretaries of State Antony Blinken and Michael Pompeo and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have all confirmed that the Government of the PRC has committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in the XUAR.

(18)

Government bodies of multiple countries have also declared that atrocities by the Government of the PRC against such populations in the XUAR constitute genocide, including the Parliament of the United Kingdom, of Belgium, of Czechia, of Lithuania, of the Netherlands, and of Canada.

Sec. 3. Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that—

(1)

the Government of the PRC should immediately open the XUAR to regular, transparent, and unmanipulated visits by—

(A)

members of the press;

(B)

international organizations, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;

(C)

academic and human rights research institutions; and

(D)

foreign delegations, including delegations from the Congress of the United States;

(2)

the Government of the PRC should—

(A)

recognize, and take tangible steps to protect and preserve, the distinct ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic identity of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the XUAR;

(B)

cease all government-sponsored crackdowns, imprisonments, and detentions of people throughout the XUAR aimed at repressing their ethnic, cultural, political, or religious identities; and

(C)

cease all government-sponsored transnational repression of Uyghurs, including the detainment, harassment, intimidation, and surveillance of the family members of exiled Uyghurs and Uyghur activists;

(3)

it is commendable that countries, including Turkey, Albania, and Germany, have provided shelter and hospitality to Uyghurs and other minority group members in exile from the PRC;

(4)

urges all countries, especially fellow democracies and countries with sizeable Muslim populations, to condemn and address the plight of Uyghurs and other minority communities in the XUAR;

(5)

the Government of the PRC should immediately grant unconditional releases to all prisoners that have been detained for their ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic identities, for expressing their political or religious beliefs in the XUAR, or for being related to members of the Uyghur diaspora or activist community, including—

(A)

Ekper 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;

(B)

Dr. Gulshan Abbas, a Uyghur retired medical doctor who was wrongfully detained in the XUAR on September 11, 2018, and unjustly sentenced to 20 years in prison in retaliation for her sister’s advocacy for Uyghur human rights issues; and

(C)

Kamile Wayit, a Uyghur university student who was wrongfully detained on December 12, 2022, after returning to the XUAR during the winter holiday while on break from studying;

(6)

the Government of the PRC should facilitate access for international humanitarian organizations, including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, to the political reeducation centers in the XUAR to ensure prisoners are not being mistreated and are receiving necessary medical care; and

(7)

the Department of State should continue to facilitate the unhindered dissemination to the international community of information regarding the human rights, religious freedom, and transnational repression of Uyghurs and members of other minority groups in the XUAR.

Sec. 4. United States strengthening of coordination on Uyghur issues

(a) In general

The Secretary of State, as appropriate, shall—

(1)

prioritize policies, programs, and projects to support the Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the XUAR;

(2)

vigorously promote the policies of—

(A)

protecting the distinct ethnic, religious, cultural, and linguistic identities of the Uyghurs and other minority groups; and

(B)

improving the protection of human rights in the XUAR;

(3)

direct the Department of State to 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 or being relatives of exiled Uyghurs;

(5)

consult with Congress regarding policies relevant to the XUAR and the Uyghurs;

(6)

coordinate with relevant Federal agencies to administer aid to Uyghur rights advocates;

(7)

strive 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 in the XUAR;

(8)

utilize Strategic Dialogue with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to address Uyghur rights and work with its individual member states to develop and implement joint initiatives and programs aimed at promoting awareness of Uyghur rights and supporting Uyghur victims of detainment, harassment, and transnational repression;

(9)

support independent media authorized under section 309 of the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6208), including Radio Free Asia, which conduct reporting and investigative journalism focused on the XUAR, including in local languages, to ensure the reporting of future PRC human rights abuses;

(10)

work with international partners to raise awareness concerning acts of transnational repression against Uyghur Americans or Uyghurs who are living in exile in the United States and develop and implement strategies to prevent and respond to such transnational repression;

(11)

establish a reporting mechanism for individuals to report incidents of transnational repression against Uyghurs and other minority groups with ties to the XUAR; and

(12)

submit to Congress an annual report, including a classified annex, if necessary, that—

(A)

describes actions taken by the United States to address and prevent transnational repression against Uyghurs in the United States; and

(B)

includes recommendations for further legislative or policy measures in support of the human rights of Uyghurs and other minority groups from the XUAR.

(b) Support

The Secretary of State shall ensure the Department of State has adequate resources, staff, and administrative support to carry out this section.

(c) Sunset

The requirements under this section shall cease to have any force or effect beginning on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Sec. 5. Funding for human rights advocates to conduct public diplomacy in the Islamic world on the Uyghur situation

(a) In general

Of the amounts appropriated for the Office of the United States Speaker Program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State for each of the fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027, $250,000 shall be made available to support human rights advocates working on behalf of the Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups from the XUAR that are being persecuted in the PRC.

(b) Identification of speakers

The Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, in consultation with representatives of the global Uyghur community, shall identify human rights advocates who may be invited to speak at global public diplomacy forums, particularly events at which representatives from Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries and other Muslim-majority countries are present, regarding issues regarding the human rights and religious freedom of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups who have been persecuted by the PRC.

Sec. 6. No additional funds authorized

No additional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements under this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts otherwise authorized for similar purposes.

Sec. 7. Access to detention facilities and prisons and the release of prisoners

(a) Strategy on political reeducation and detention facilities

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall develop a strategy for cooperating with like-minded partners to pressure the Government of the PRC—

(1)

to close all detention facilities and political reeducation camps housing Uyghurs and members of other ethnic minority groups in the XUAR;

(2)

to allow unhindered access to detention facilities and political reeducation camps in the XUAR by independent media, researchers, international organizations and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for a comprehensive assessment of the human rights situation; and

(3)

to protect human rights and preserve the distinct religious and cultural identity of the Uyghurs and the other religious and ethnic minority communities in the XUAR.

(b) Report on strategy and implementation

Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report, including a classified annex, if necessary, that includes—

(1)

the strategy developed pursuant to subsection (a); and

(2)

all of the steps that have been taken to implement such strategy in accordance with the objectives described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a).

Sec. 8. Requirement for Uyghur language training

(a) Uyghur language training and staffing

The Secretary of State shall take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that—

(1)

Uyghur language training is available to Foreign Service officers, as appropriate; and

(2)

efforts are made to ensure that at least 1 Uyghur-speaking member of the Service (as defined in section 103 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3903)) is assigned to each United States diplomatic or consular post in China.

(b) Report

No later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the following 2 years, the Foreign Service Institute shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that outlines all of the steps that have been taken to implement subsection (a).

Sec. 9. Uyghur considerations at the United Nations

The President should direct the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States—

(1)

to oppose any efforts to prevent consideration of the gross violation of internationally recognized human rights in the XUAR in any body of the United Nations;

(2)

to 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)

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 containing information about such violations and abuses available to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the General Assembly of the United Nations, and other United Nations subsidiaries.