AfP’s Statement on the United States’ Sanctions for Serious Human Rights Abuses in Xinjiang
The United States must continue to work with its allies to deter serious human rights abuses in Xinjiang
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 24, 2021
CONTACT
Linda Zheng | linda@allianceforpeacebuilding.org
Washington, DC—The Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) applauds coordinated efforts by the United States (U.S.), Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union to levy sanctions against two Chinese officials and others responsible for “serious human rights abuses” against Uyghurs. While these designations by the U.S. and its allies demonstrate their commitment to working multilaterally to promote accountability for the Chinese government’s human rights abuses, the Biden-Administration must also robustly implement the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act and work with Congress to ensure adoption of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
For decades, the Chinese government has systematically restricted the religious, cultural, and traditional practices of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims living in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China. Since 2017, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has used high tech surveillance and implemented invasive home stay programs in Xinjiang to maintain social control over Uyghurs.
Over one million Uyghurs and Turkic Muslims have been arbitrarily detained in “re-education camps,” or detention centers where detainees undergo political indoctrination and are forced to renounce their cultural and religious beliefs. The CCP is also drastically reducing Uyghur birth rates by forcing Uyghur women to get abortions and IUD implants, and undergo sterilizations.
The U.S. imposed sanctions on Wang Junzheng, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and Chen Mingguo, Director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau, under the Global Magnitsky Act which targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption.
Many U.S. officials, including President Biden, and human rights organizations have condemned the re-education camps, characterizing the ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims as genocide. U.S. Secretary of State Blinken said in a recent statement, “Amid growing international condemnation, the PRC continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.”
While we applaud these recent multinational actions, the U.S. government must not stop short of using all available means to deter the serious human rights abuses in Xinjiang. The U.S. must continue to work with its allies to ensure robust implementation of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020, which imposes sanctions on foreign individuals and entities responsible for human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Additionally, Congress and the Administration should adopt the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to hold the Chinese government accountable and protect ethnic minorities in Xinjiang by prohibiting imports from Xinjiang that are made with forced labor.
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With over 130 member organizations, AfP brings together the largest development organizations, most innovative academic institutions, and influential humanitarian and faith-based groups to harness collective action for peace. We build coalitions in key areas of strategy and policy to elevate the entire peacebuilding field, tackling issues too large for any one organization to address alone.