Uyghur Policy Act of 2023

Subjects: International Affairs


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1252 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






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.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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