118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2766 
AN ACT 
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 Representa-
tives 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) con-
tinues to repress the distinct Islamic, Turkic identity 
of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and reli-
gious minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Au-
tonomous 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 through-
out their history a distinct religious and cultural 
identity. 
(3) Human rights, including freedom of religion 
or belief, and respect for the Uyghurs’ unique Mus-
lim identity are legitimate interests of the inter-
national community. 
(4) The People’s Republic of China has ratified 
the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and 
Cultural Rights and has also signed the Inter-
national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 
(5) An official campaign to encourage Han Chi-
nese migration into the XUAR has placed immense
pressure on those who seek to preserve the ethnic, 
cultural, religious, and linguistic traditions of the 
Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority 
groups. 
(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 un-
equal access to healthcare services. 
(7) The authorities of the People’s Republic of 
China have manipulated the strategic objectives of 
the international war on terror to mask their in-
creasing cultural and religious oppression of the 
Muslim population residing in the XUAR. 
(8) Following unrest in the region, in 2014, 
Chinese authorities launched their ‘‘Strike Hard 
against Violent Extremism’’ campaign, in which du-
bious 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 im-
position of arbitrary detentions and for 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 organi-
zations has found that over the past decade, family 
members of Uyghurs and other minority groups liv-
ing outside of the PRC have gone missing or been 
detained to force Uyghur expatriates to return to 
the PRC or silence their dissent. 
(12) Credible evidence from human rights orga-
nizations, 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. 
(13) Independent accounts from former detain-
ees of ‘‘political reeducation’’ centers describe inhu-
mane conditions and treatment including forced po-
litical indoctrination, torture, beatings, rape, forced 
sterilization, and food deprivation. 
(14) Former detainees of PRC so-called ‘‘polit-
ical reeducation’’ centers 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. 
(15) Popular discourse surrounding the ongoing 
atrocities in the XUAR and advocacy efforts to as-
sist Uyghurs remains muted in much of the world, 
including in most Muslim majority nations. 
(16) Both Secretary of State Antony Blinken 
and Former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo 
have stated that the PRC government has com-
mitted genocide and crimes against humanity 
against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious mi-
norities in the XUAR. 
(17) 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 Nether-
lands, and Canada. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the Government of the People’s Republic of 
China should immediately open the Xinjiang Uyghur 
Autonomous Region (XUAR) to regular, trans-
parent, and unmanipulated visits by members of the
press, international organizations including the Of-
fice of the United Nations High Commissioner for 
Human Rights, academic and human rights research 
institutions, as well as foreign delegations including 
from the United States Congress; 
(2) Government of the People’s Republic of 
China should recognize, and take tangible steps to 
protect and preserve, the distinct ethnic, cultural, re-
ligious, and linguistic identity of Uyghurs and mem-
bers of other ethnic and religious minority groups in 
the XUAR; 
(3) the Government of the People’s Republic of 
China should cease all government-sponsored crack-
downs, imprisonments, and detentions of people 
throughout the XUAR aimed at repressing their eth-
nic, cultural, political, or religious identities; 
(4) it is commendable for countries to provide 
shelter and hospitality to Uyghurs and other minor-
ity group members in exile, as Turkey, Albania, and 
Germany have done; 
(5) urges all countries, especially fellow democ-
racies and those with sizeable Muslim populations, 
to condemn and address the plight of Uyghurs and 
other minority communities in the XUAR;
(6) the Government of the PRC should imme-
diately and unconditionally release all prisoners de-
tained for their ethnic, cultural, religious, and lin-
guistic identities, or for expressing their political or 
religious beliefs in the XUAR, 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 serv-
ing a 15 year prison sentence on charges of ‘‘in-
citing ethnic hatred and ethnic discrimination’’; 
(B) Dr. Gulshan Abbas, a retired medical 
doctor and Uyghur, who was wrongfully de-
tained 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 university student 
and Uyghur, who was wrongfully detained on 
December 12, 2022, after returning to the 
XUAR while on break from studying during the 
winter holiday; 
(7) the Government of the PRC should facili-
tate access for international humanitarian organiza-
tions, including the International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies, to the ‘‘political 
reeducation’’ centers in the XUAR to ensure pris-
oners are not being mistreated and are receiving 
necessary medical care; and 
(8) the United States Agency for Global Media 
should continue to facilitate the unhindered dissemi-
nation of information to the international commu-
nity on issues regarding the human rights and reli-
gious freedom of Uyghurs and members of other mi-
nority groups in the XUAR. 
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 Coordi-
nator 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 Representa-
tives 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 iden-
tities of the Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minor-
ity groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (in 
this Act referred to as the ‘‘XUAR’’). 
(d) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Special 
Coordinator should, as appropriate— 
(1) coordinate United State Government poli-
cies, programs, and projects concerning the Uyghurs 
and members of other ethnic and religious minority 
groups in the XUAR; 
(2) vigorously promote the policy of seeking to 
protect the distinct ethnic, religious, cultural, and 
linguistic identity of the Uyghurs and other minority 
groups and seek improved protection of human 
rights in the XUAR; 
(3) maintain close contact with Uyghur reli-
gious, cultural, and political leaders, including seek-
ing regular travel to the XUAR and to Uyghur pop-
ulations 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 de-
tained 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 for-
eign ministries of other countries, especially in Eu-
rope, Central Asia, and members of the Organisation 
of Islamic Cooperation, to pursue a policy of pro-
moting greater respect for human rights and reli-
gious freedom for Uyghurs and other ethnic and re-
ligious minority groups from the XUAR. 
(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 Sec-
retary 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 rea-
sons for the delay. 
(g) TERMINATION.—This section shall terminate on 
the date that is 5 years after the date of the designation 
of the Special Coordinator.
SEC. 5. FUNDING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES TO CON-
DUCT PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE ISLAMIC 
WORLD ON THE UYGHUR SITUATION. 
Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated for the 
U.S. Speaker program of 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 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 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 rep-
resentatives of the global Uyghur community, to speak at 
global public diplomacy forums, particularly those in 
which Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries and 
other Muslim-majority countries are present, on issues re-
garding the human rights and religious freedom of 
Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minor-
ity groups persecuted in the PRC. 
SEC. 6. 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 should, in consultation with the heads of other rel-
evant Federal departments and agencies, develop a strat-
egy to cooperate with like-minded partners to pressure the 
People’s Republic of China to— 
(1) close all detention facilities and ‘‘political 
reeducation’’ camps housing Uyghurs and members 
of other ethnic minority groups in the XUAR; 
(2) allow unhindered access to detention facili-
ties and ‘‘political reeducation’’ camps in the XUAR 
by independent media, researchers, international or-
ganizations and the Office of the United Nations 
High Commissioner for Human Rights for a com-
prehensive assessment of the human rights situation; 
and 
(3) protect human rights and preserve the dis-
tinct religious and cultural identity of the Uyghurs 
and the other religious and ethnic minority commu-
nities 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 Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
a report that includes— 
(1) the strategy developed pursuant to sub-
section (a); and
(2) all the steps taken pursuant to the objec-
tives described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of 
such subsection. 
SEC. 7. 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) every effort is made to ensure that at least 
one Uyghur-speaking member of the Foreign Service 
(as such term is defined by section 103 of the For-
eign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3903)) is as-
signed 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 
2 years, the Foreign Service Institute shall submit to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen-
ate a report that outlines all the steps taken to implement 
subsection (a).
SEC. 8. UYGHUR CONSIDERATIONS AT THE UNITED NA-
TIONS. 
The President should direct the United States Per-
manent Representative to the United Nations to use the 
voice, vote, and influence of the United States to— 
(1) 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) oppose any efforts to prevent the participa-
tion of any Uyghur human rights advocates in non-
governmental fora hosted by or otherwise organized 
under the auspices of any body of the United Na-
tions; and 
(3) 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 avail-
able to the High Commissioner for Refugees, the 
High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human 
Rights Commission, the General Assembly, and 
other United Nations bodies.
SEC. 9. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 
No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 
requirements of this Act. Such requirements shall be car-
ried out using amounts otherwise authorized. 
Passed the House of Representatives February 15, 
2024. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2766 
AN ACT 
To support the human rights of Uyghurs and mem-
bers of other minority groups residing primarily 
in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and 
safeguard their distinct identity, and for other 
purposes.