Ask your Senators and Congressperson to Support the Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act.

As you know, millions of Uyghurs have been placed in camps where they have been subjected to forced labor, torture, and organ harvestation. The United States Congress needs to do more.

In April 2024, Congressmen Chris Smith (R-NJ), and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) introduced the Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act (UGASA, H.R. 8124). Similar to the Senate bill, this bill expands sanctions.   The Smith-Suozzi bill (HR 8124) strengthens provisions in the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020. It expands existing sanctions and other measures to make sure Chinese officials are held accountable for their horrific human rights atrocities against Uyghurs and other ethnic minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

Congressmen Smith and Suozzi recently created the Congressional Uyghur Caucus to encourage more action and education for and about the Uyghur genocide in China.

In 2023, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced the Senate version of the Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act (UGASA, S. 1770). This important bill expands sanctions and travel restrictions for the Chinese officials who are directly responsible for the genocide. It goes beyond that and also authorizes the U.S. State Department and Agency for International Development (USAID) to assist victims of the genocide and gives them the authority to produce and broadcast counter-programming to the Chinese propaganda, document human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and promote the linguistic and cultural heritage that has been suppressed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Additionally, it requires the Securities and Exchange Commission to be made aware of any organizations or companies that support the Uyghur genocide.

These two bills need your Senators and Congressperson to cosponsor and support them.