HR-8124 : Still Just a Bill

The "Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act of 2024" (H.R. 8124) aims to strengthen the United States' response to human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. Key provisions include:

• Expanded Sanctions: Broadens the scope of sanctions under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 to include individuals and entities involved in systematic rape, coercive abortion, forced sterilization, human trafficking for organ removal, forced separation of children, and forced deportation to China.
• Sanctions Enforcement: Expresses Congress's concern that existing sanctions have not been fully utilized and urges the President to actively employ them against those responsible for atrocities and forced labor.
• Visa Restrictions: Mandates the denial of entry into the United States for individuals complicit in forced abortions or forced sterilizations, while allowing for waivers in certain limited circumstances, such as for national security or law enforcement purposes.
• Support for Victims: Authorizes assistance for Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other ethnic groups who have experienced torture, forced sterilization, or other atrocities, providing medical care, physical therapy, and psychological support.
• Cultural Preservation: Promotes the preservation of the cultural and linguistic heritage of ethnic groups oppressed by the Chinese government, including a feasibility study for a grant program and funding for a Repressed Cultures Preservation Initiative at the Smithsonian Institution.
• Entity Determinations: Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to determine whether specific Chinese entities are responsible for human rights abuses and should be subject to sanctions.
• Countering Propaganda: Mandates a strategy to counter Chinese propaganda that denies the genocide and other human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
• Documenting Atrocities: Supports efforts to collect, document, and archive evidence of genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.
• Government Contracts: Prohibits U.S. government agencies from contracting with individuals or entities involved in forced labor or human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
• Forced Organ Harvesting: Requires a strategy to deter and disrupt forced organ harvesting in China, including a determination of whether it has occurred in Xinjiang.