• Press Release

United States Takes Historic Step In Protecting Uyghurs In China

June 17, 2020

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - MARCH 05: Human rights activists display dolls which they say depicts thousands of missing ethnic Chinese Uighur outside the Chinese embassy on March 5, 2020 in The Hague, Netherlands. (Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images)
Responding to President Trump signing the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act into law, Joanne Lin, National Director, Advocacy and Government Affairs for Amnesty International USA, released the following statement. 

“Today, the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020, which passed Congress overwhelmingly and was widely supported by Republican and Democratic lawmakers, was signed into law. This historic legislation sets into place a reporting system requiring the U.S. government to identify individuals who have committed torture, abduction, prolonged detention, and other human rights violations against Uyghurs and condemns the mass arbitrary detention of Uyghurs. 

“For years, the Chinese government has wrongfully jailed approximately a million Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority in China, in mass detention camps in the Xinjiang province. Our research has documented cases of Uyghurs facing inhumane work practices, Chinese authorities committing torture, and threatening relatives, even those living abroad, as a form of punishment. 

“We have unearthed the true horrors committed by the Chinese government and mobilized our members to respond. It’s time the United States government takes measures to protect all religious and ethnic minorities and denounces governments for violating their human rights.” 

Joanne Lin is available for media interviews.