Washington, DC – Today, the Problem Solvers Caucus announced its endorsement of the Uyghur Policy Act (H.R. 4785), a bipartisan bill led by U.S. Representatives Young Kim (CA-39) and Ami Bera (CA-07) to support Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities facing atrocities in Xinjiang.
Reps. Kim and Bera serve as Vice Ranking Member and Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation.
The Uyghur Policy Act creates a comprehensive strategy to raise international awareness of the persecution of Uyghurs, empower the U.S. State Department to respond to human rights challenges in the XUAR more effectively, and push back on the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) efforts to silence the Uyghurs.
The bill has 50 bipartisan cosponsors and received the support of over 75 percent of the Problem Solvers Caucus. It passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee in September 2021.
“As the world watches the Chinese government’s propaganda during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, we must speak out and take action to support those trapped under their control,” said Kim. “I thank my Problem Solvers Caucus colleagues for their broad bipartisan support for the Uyghur Policy Act and taking concrete steps to support Uyghurs facing unthinkable atrocities every day simply because of their faith and ethnicity. I urge Speaker Pelosi to bring this bill to the floor for a House vote.”
The Uyghur Policy Act of 2021 would:
- Create a Special Coordinator for Uyghur Issues within the State Department;
- Direct the U.S. Agency for Global Media to disseminate information concerning Uyghurs and other minority groups in the XUAR to Islamic majority countries;
- Require the State Department to offer Uyghur language training to Foreign Service Officers and to assign a Uyghur-fluent officer to a U.S. diplomatic or consular mission in China;
- Call on the U.S. Government to develop a strategy, in coordination with like-minded countries, to pressure the PRC to close all detention facilities and push for the immediate release of those detained; and,
- Support U.S. efforts to raise Uyghur issues at the United Nations, including by supporting the appointment of a special rapporteur for the XUAR for human rights violations and abuses.
