118 S1252 IS: Uyghur Policy Act of 2023
U.S. Senate
2023-04-20
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II
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1252
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.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Uyghur Policy Act of 2023”.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.