Tell your Members of Congress to support and co-sponsor the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Policy Act (S.288)

Southern Mongolians, in what China refers to as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, are facing an urgent and multifaceted human rights crisis. Under the guise of “bilingual education reform,” Chinese authorities have gutted Mongolian-language instruction in schools, replacing it with Mandarin-only curricula and forcibly assimilating Mongolian children. This policy has triggered widespread protests across the region, led by parents, students, and teachers seeking to preserve their language and heritage. The Chinese government responded with mass surveillance, arrests, job terminations, and threats of imprisonment—treating peaceful dissent as a crime.

But the repression extends far beyond the classroom. Mongolian herders—once the custodians of the region’s vast grasslands—have seen their ancestral grazing lands seized or destroyed under state-led development and mining projects. These extractive industries, often backed by Chinese state-owned enterprises, are rapidly degrading the fragile ecosystem of the steppe. Forced evictions, arbitrary detentions of herders, and the militarization of rural areas have made traditional pastoral life nearly impossible. Many herders who speak out about these injustices have been imprisoned under vague charges such as "picking quarrels and provoking trouble."

Introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Policy Act (S.288) would direct the U.S. government to respond with targeted sanctions, diplomatic pressure, and material support for civil society, Mongolian-language education, and environmental defenders. It would send a clear message that the United States stands with Southern Mongols in their fight to preserve their heritage, protect their land, and live with dignity and freedom.

The Southern Mongolian Human Rights Policy Act would:

• Coordinate U.S. government action by designating the Secretary of State to oversee policies and programs that promote and protect the human rights of Southern Mongolians, including efforts to preserve their ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and pastoral traditions.
• Defend the Southern Mongolian Diaspora by addressing transnational repression, protecting academic freedom, and creating mechanisms to report and respond to intimidation or surveillance by Chinese state actors abroad.
• Increase accountability for Chinese government abuses by developing a strategy to document and respond to the erosion of traditional pastoral livelihoods, coercive population policies, and violations of cultural and linguistic rights in Southern Mongolia.
• Support human rights defenders and advocates working to expose and counter repression against Southern Mongolians, including restrictions on the Mongolian language, land seizures, and forced assimilation campaigns.

For More Information

Click here for details of the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Policy Act (S.288)

Click here for more information from the Southern Mongolia Human Rights Information Center