World Uyghur Congress
The World Uyghur Congress is an umbrella organization of Uyghur nationalist groups such as the World Uyghur Youth Congress, and was formed in November 1996 and some members of the East Turkestan National Congress. The East Turkistan National Congress split in early 2004 over the issue of independence vs autonomy. On 18 April 2004, some Uyghur groups united to create the pro-autonomy World Uyghur Congress, with [[Erkin Alptekin]] serving as the first president and [[Dolkun Isa]] is General Secretary since 2004 of the unified group; he served until 2006, when [[Rebiya Kadeer]] was elected as at the second General Assembly meeting held on 24–27 November 2006. While other Uyghur, Kazakh, and other Turkic groups formed the pro-independence [[East Turkistan Government in Exile]] in September 2004. The Congress has convened six assemblies since its inception—in 2004, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2016 and 2017. It is a member of the [[Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization]], and is based primarily in [[Munich]], home to a large Uyghur [[diaspora]]. There are no known links between the WUC and the [[East Turkestan Islamic Movement]]. In 2019, the World Uyghur Congress, represented by [[Dolkun Isa]], received the [[National Endowment for Democracy#Democracy Award|Democracy Award]] for advocating for democracy, human rights, and freedom for the Uyghur people and the use of peaceful, nonviolent, and democratic means to help Uyghurs achieve self-determination.