S-1252 : Still Just a Bill

Uyghur Policy Act of 2023

This bill addresses human rights issues concerning the Uyghurs and other persecuted minority groups in China, particularly in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

Specifically, the bill requires the Department of State to

• support human rights advocates representing these groups to speak at public diplomacy forums, including in Muslim-majority countries;
• ensure that Uyghur language training is available to Foreign Service officers;
• make every effort to ensure a Uyghur-speaking member of the Foreign Service is assigned to U.S. diplomatic and consular missions in China, Turkey (Türkiye), and other nations with Uyghur populations; and
• submit to Congress a strategy to secure the release of political prisoners in China.

The bill also requires the State Department and the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (U.N.) to

• support the appointment of a U.N. special rapporteur or working group to monitor and report on human rights violations and abuses in the XUAR,
• oppose any efforts to prevent consideration of issues related to the XUAR at the United Nations, and
• oppose any efforts to prevent Uyghur human rights advocates from participating in certain U.N. events.