Title: To support the human rights of Uyghurs and members of other minority groups residing primarily in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and safeguard their distinct identity, and for other purposes.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Uyghur Policy Act of 2021
This bill addresses human rights issues concerning the Uyghurs and other minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.
The bill authorizes the establishment of a Special Coordinator for Uyghur Issues position within the Department of State.
The State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs may, subject to appropriations, make certain funds available to human rights advocates working on behalf of Uyghurs and members of other minority groups. The funds, if made available, shall be used to facilitate the presence of such human rights advocates at public diplomacy forums to speak on issues related to the human rights and religious freedoms of minority groups in Xinjiang.
The State Department must ensure that Uyghur language training is available to Foreign Service officers. It must also ensure that a Uyghur-speaking member of the Foreign Service is assigned to U.S. diplomatic and consular missions in China.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4785 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4785

 To support the human rights of Uyghurs and members of other minority 
groups residing in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and safeguard 
            their distinct identity, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 29, 2021

 Mrs. Kim of California (for herself, Mr. Bera, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mrs. 
 Demings, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Malinowski, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. 
 Chabot, Ms. Titus, and Mr. Johnson of Ohio) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To support the human rights of Uyghurs and members of other minority 
groups residing in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and 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 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The People's Republic of China (PRC) continues to 
        repress the distinct Islamic, Turkic identity of Uyghurs and 
        members of other minority groups of the Xinjiang Uyghur 
        Autonomous Region (XUAR) in northwestern China.
            (2) Uyghurs, and other predominantly Muslim ethnic 
        minorities living in the XUAR, have maintained throughout their 
        history a distinct religious and cultural identity.
            (3) Human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, 
        and respect for the Uyghurs' unique Muslim identity are 
        legitimate interests of the international community, including 
        the particular concern of Islamic nations.
            (4) The People's Republic of China has ratified the 
        International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights 
        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 Han 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 Han Chinese economic immigrants into the 
        XUAR, implemented discrimination against Uyghurs in hiring 
        practices, and provided unequal access to healthcare services.
            (6) The authorities of the People's Republic of China have 
        manipulated the strategic objectives of the international war 
        on terror to increase their cultural and religious oppression 
        of the Muslim population residing in the XUAR.
            (7) Following unrest in the region, in 2014, Chinese 
        authorities launched their ``Strike Hard against Violent 
        Extremism'' campaign, in which dubious threats of widespread 
        extremist activity were used as justification for gross human 
        rights violations committed against members of the Uyghur 
        community in the XUAR.
            (8) Chinese authorities 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 China have attested to repeated 
        threats, harassment, and surveillance by Chinese officials.
            (10) Reporting from international news organizations has 
        found that over the past decade, family members of Uyghurs 
        living outside of China have gone missing or been detained to 
        force their return to China or silence dissent.
            (11) Credible evidence from human rights organizations, 
        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.
            (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 the only way to secure release was to 
        demonstrate sufficient political loyalty.
            (13) News 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 
        government in Xinjiang has committed genocide and crimes 
        against humanity.
            (15) Government branches of other nations have also 
        declared genocide in Xinjiang, including the parliaments of the 
        United Kingdom, Belgium, Czechia, Lithuania, the Netherlands 
        and Canada.

SEC. 3. DECLARATIONS OF POLICY.

    Congress--
            (1) calls upon the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China to open the XUAR to regular visits by United States 
        Members of Congress, Congressional staff delegations, the 
        United States Special Coordinator for Uyghur Issues under 
        section 4, and members and staff of the Congressional-Executive 
        Commission on the People's Republic of China;
            (2) calls upon the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China to recognize, and seek to ensure, the distinct ethnic, 
        cultural, religious, and linguistic identity of Uyghurs and 
        members of other groups in the XUAR;
            (3) calls upon the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China to cease 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) commends countries that have provided shelter and 
        hospitality to Uyghurs in exile, including Turkey, Albania, and 
        Germany; and
            (5) urges countries with sizeable Muslim populations, given 
        their common religious and cultural identity, to demonstrate 
        particular concern over the plight of Uyghurs.

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 Coordinator 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 
Representatives 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 identities of the Uyghurs.
    (d) Duties and Responsibilities.--The Special Coordinator should, 
as appropriate--
            (1) coordinate United States Government policies, programs, 
        and projects concerning the Uyghurs;
            (2) vigorously promote the policy of seeking to protect the 
        distinct ethnic, religious, cultural, and linguistic identity 
        of the Uyghurs and seek improved respect for human rights in 
        the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR);
            (3) maintain close contact with religious, cultural, and 
        political leaders of the Uyghurs, including seeking regular 
        travel to the XUAR and to Uyghur settlements 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;
            (5) consult with 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 foreign 
        ministries of other countries, especially in Europe, Central 
        Asia, and the Islamic world, to pursue a policy of promoting 
        greater respect for human rights and religious freedom for 
        Uyghurs and other groups.
    (e) Support.--The Secretary of State shall ensure the Special 
Coordinator has adequate resources, staff, and administrative support 
to carry out this section.

SEC. 5. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD ON THE UYGHUR SITUATION.

    (a) Funding for Human Rights Advocates.--Of the amounts authorized 
to be appropriated for the U.S. Speaker Program in the Bureau of 
Educational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State, $250,000 
for each of fiscal years 2022, 2023, and 2024 is authorized to be 
available for human rights advocates on behalf of the Uyghurs and 
members of other minority groups, whose names may be provided by 
representatives of the global Uyghur community and in consultation with 
the Department of State and the United States Special Coordinator for 
Uyghur Issues under section 4, to speak at public diplomacy forums in 
Islamic majority countries and other regions on issues regarding the 
human rights and religious freedom of Uyghurs and members of other 
minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
    (b) United States Agency for Global Media.--It is the sense of 
Congress that the United States Agency for Global Media should 
facilitate the unhindered dissemination of information to Islamic 
majority countries on issues regarding the human rights and religious 
freedom of Uyghurs and members of other minority groups in the XUAR.

SEC. 6. ACCESS TO DETENTION FACILITIES AND PRISONS AND THE RELEASE OF 
              PRISONERS.

    (a) Sense of Congress on Political Reeducation and Detention 
Facilities.--It is the sense of Congress that the United States 
Government should, in cooperation with other like-minded countries, 
develop a strategy to--
            (1) pressure the People's Republic of China to immediately 
        close all detention facilities and ``political reeducation'' 
        camps housing Uyghurs and members of other ethnic minority 
        groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR); and
            (2) 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.
    (b) Sense of Congress on Prison Access and Prisoner Release.--It is 
the sense of Congress that the President and Secretary of State, in 
meetings with representatives of the Government of the People's 
Republic of China, should--
            (1) request 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;
            (2) seek access for international humanitarian 
        organizations, including the International Federation of Red 
        Cross and Red Crescent Societies, to prisoners in the XUAR to 
        ensure such prisoners are not being mistreated and are 
        receiving necessary medical care;
            (3) seek the immediate release of Ekpar Asat, who 
        participated in the Department of State's International 
        Visitors Leadership Program in 2016 and incarcerated after 
        returning to the XUAR and is now serving a 15-year prison 
        sentence on charges of ``inciting ethnic hatred and ethnic 
        discrimination''; and
            (4) seek the immediate release of Canadian citizens Michael 
        Kovrig and Michael Spavor who have been imprisoned without 
        trial since 2018.

SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT FOR UYGHUR LANGUAGE TRAINING.

    The Secretary of State shall ensure that Uyghur language training 
is available to Foreign Service officers as appropriate, and that every 
effort is made to ensure that a Uyghur-speaking member of the Foreign 
Service (as such term is 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 China.

SEC. 8. UYGHUR CONSIDERATIONS AT THE UNITED NATIONS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States Government should oppose any efforts 
        to prevent consideration of the issues related to the Xinjiang 
        Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in any body of the United 
        Nations;
            (2) the United States Government should 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) the Secretary of State should instruct the United 
        States Permanent Representative to the United Nations to 
        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 
        available to the High Commissioner for Refugees, the High 
        Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights Commission, the 
        General Assembly, and other United Nations bodies.
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