USCIRF Commemorates the Anniversary of the U.S. Government’s Determination of the Uyghur Genocide

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) commemorates the third anniversary of the U.S. government’s determination of China’s genocide against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in the Xinjiang region.

“We applaud the U.S. government—both the then Trump administration and the current Biden administration—for recognizing the Chinese government’s atrocities in the Uyghur region as genocide and crimes against humanity. We also appreciate the overwhelming bipartisan support on Uyghur issues in Congress,” stated USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel. “But, as we mark the third anniversary of the Uyghur genocide determination, the Chinese government’s persecution in the Uyghur region remains unrelenting. The U.S. government and like-minded international partners must redouble their efforts to hold the Chinese government accountable for its despicable atrocities against ethno-religious minorities in Xinjiang.”

Chinese authorities have placed millions of Uyghurs in concentration camps in which they experience torture, sexual violence, forced abortion, and forced sterilization. Nearly a million Uyghur children have been forcibly separated from their detained parents and placed in state-run boarding schools. The government also continues to subject Uyghurs to forced labor in factories in Xinjiang and throughout China.

“The Chinese government is one of the world’s worst religious freedom violators. Its persecution of Uyghur Muslims in particular demands strong condemnation and concrete policy actions,” USCIRF Commissioner David Curry stated. “The Chinese government not only persecutes religious groups inside China, but it has also increasingly extended its authoritarian reach overseas, relentlessly intimidating Uyghurs, Tibetans, Christians, and Falun Gong practitioners in the United States and other countries. We urge the U.S. government’s continued action on these concerns, including Congress supporting the passage of the Uyghur Policy Act of 2023 (H.R.2766).”

USCIRF has consistently highlighted the Chinese government’s religious freedom violations. USCIRF applauded the U.S. government’s joint sanctions with like-minded partners against Chinese officials responsible for egregious religious freedom violations against Uyghur and other Muslims in Xinjiang. USCIRF also applauded President Joseph R. Biden for implementing a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in protest against the Chinese government’s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang. Additionally, USCIRF recommended the U.S. Congress support human rights legislations that address China’s religious freedom and human rights abuses, including the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (Public Law 117–78).

In its 2023 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended the U.S. government redesignate China as a “Country of Particular Concern,” or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. On December 29, 2023, the U.S. Department of State redesignated China as a CPC. Earlier this month, USCIRF released a Policy Update on China, with recommendations to the U.S. government on steps it can take to address China’s techno-authoritarianism, transnational repression, and malign political influence in the United States.

###

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].