H.R. 4830 — Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act of 2025

This section designates the Act as the Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act of 2025 and sets forth its table of contents.

This section amends sec. 6 of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (P.L. 116-145), which requires presidential reports identifying persons responsible for human rights abuses against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority groups in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) for potential sanctions. Specifically, the section (1) expands the scope of covered persons in required reports to include members of those groups outside the People's Republic of China; (2) adds to the reportable acts systematic rape, coercive abortion, forced sterilization, or involuntary contraceptive implantation; human trafficking for organ removal; forced separation of children from parents for placement in boarding schools; and forced deportation or refoulement to the People's Republic of China; (3) requires reports to identify foreign persons that knowingly provide significant goods, services, or technology to sanctioned persons or engage in significant transactions related to the specified acts; (4) updates a cross-reference in subsection (b); and (5) authorizes the President to implement the section using all authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702) and to issue necessary regulations, licenses, and orders. The amendments take effect on the date of enactment and apply to the first report submitted thereafter.

This section mandates denial of visas and admission to the United States (previously discretionary "may not") for foreign nationals found, based on credible and specific information, to have been directly involved in establishing or enforcing population control policies involving forced abortions or sterilizations, unless the Secretary of State has substantial grounds to believe the individual has discontinued such involvement. It further (1) replaces the prior waiver authority—which required only a national interest determination and congressional notification—with a narrower waiver requiring certifications that the individual is not directly complicit in atrocities (i.e., oversight of policies intended to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group via forced sterilization, abortion, or other egregious measures), that admission is necessary to comply with U.S. international obligations (e.g., UN Headquarters Agreement) or advance U.S. law enforcement, and that it serves the U.S. national security interest, plus congressional notification; (2) requires the Secretary of State to publicly announce imposition of the prohibitions; and (3) directs the Secretary, upon a Member of Congress's request, to provide data on prohibition usage (e.g., impositions by country and year) and related sanctions.

This section authorizes the Secretary of State to use funds appropriated to the Department of State under the "Development Assistance" heading to provide medical care, physical therapy, and psychological support to individuals from Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, or other oppressed ethnic groups in China who experienced torture, forced sterilization, rape, forced abortion, forced labor, or other atrocities in China and are residing outside China. It further authorizes capacity building through grants to treatment centers and programs in foreign countries, and research and training for health care providers outside such centers, in accordance with the torture victim assistance program (22 U.S.C. 2152(b) and (c)(2)). Additionally, (1) it requires a briefing to the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs Committees within one year of enactment describing direct care provided in foreign countries and projects started or supported; and (2) it limits the U.S. government share of assistance costs to no more than 50 percent.

This section addresses the preservation of the cultural, religious, and linguistic heritage of ethnic and religious groups oppressed by the People's Republic of China (PRC), particularly in Xinjiang, by— (1) making a congressional finding that genocide and crimes against humanity by PRC officials aim to erase such heritage; (2) expressing the sense of Congress that the U.S. government promote preservation through its diplomatic, development, and cultural activities; (3) requiring the Secretary of State to submit to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and House Committee on Foreign Affairs, not later than one year after enactment, a report assessing the feasibility of a grant program for affected communities and providing recommendations on needed authorities or funding; and (4) authorizing $2 million for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029 for a Repressed Cultures Preservation Initiative within the Smithsonian Institution to support institution-wide research, exhibitions, and education on heritages threatened by repressive regimes, including the PRC.

This section directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of the State and the Attorney General and not later than 60 days after enactment, to (1) determine whether any of seven specified Chinese entities—Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd.; Shenzhen Huada Gene Technology Co., Ltd. (BGI Group); Tiandy Technologies Co., Ltd.; Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., Ltd.; China Electronics Technology Group Co.; Zhejiang Uniview Technologies Co., Ltd.; or ByteDance Ltd.—is responsible for or complicit in serious human rights abuses against Uyghurs or other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or meets sanctions criteria under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.), section 6 of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note), sections 105, 105A, 105B, or 105C of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8514 et seq.), Executive Order No. 13818, or Executive Order No. 13553 (as amended); (2) if so, add the entity to the Office of Foreign Assets Control's list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons; and (3) report the determinations and reasons to Congress (unclassified form, with possible classified annex).

This section directs the Secretary of State, within 30 days of enactment, to submit to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs a strategy for countering propaganda and messaging from PRC government-associated sources that (1) deny genocide, crimes against humanity, and human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang; (2) criticize U.S. economic and reputational actions against the PRC for such abuses; (3) target Uyghurs opposing PRC policies; or (4) pressure UN members to defend PRC human rights violations in multilateral forums. The strategy must include (1) existing messaging and broadcasting efforts and their audience reach; (2) metrics and analysis of their success; (3) planned new or pilot efforts for the next 12 months with justifications; (4) measurable goals and outcomes for expanded counter-propaganda efforts; and (5) estimates of additional funding needs. The section authorizes use of funds from the Countering PRC Influence Fund (under sec. 7043(c)(2) of div. K of P.L. 117-103) for developing and implementing the strategy.

This section authorizes the Secretary of State to provide financial and technical assistance to entities, including nongovernmental organizations with expertise in international criminal investigations and law, to address genocide, crimes against humanity, and related crimes by the Government of the People's Republic of China in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region by (1) collecting, documenting, archiving, and preserving evidence, including victim testimonies and social media visuals; (2) identifying suspected perpetrators; (3) conducting criminal investigations, including by developing indigenous investigative and judicial skills through partnerships, mentoring, and equipment for prosecutions in domestic, hybrid, and internationalized domestic courts; (4) supporting investigations by foreign countries, civil society groups, and multilateral organizations such as the United Nations; and (5) supporting and protecting witnesses.

This section prohibits the head of an executive agency from entering into procurement contracts for goods or services with (1) any person identified in the report required by section 6(a) of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (P.L. 116-145); (2) any person that mined, produced, or manufactured goods detained and denied entry by U.S. Customs and Border Protection under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (P.L. 117-78); (3) any person that the agency head determines, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, facilitates genocide and human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China; or (4) any person, program, project, or activity that contributes to forced labor—particularly through procurement of goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in Xinjiang or by ethnic Uyghurs or other persecuted groups in China—or violates internationally recognized worker rights in China. The section requires executive agencies to consult with the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force on implementing prohibition (2); directs the President to submit an implementation report to specified Senate and House committees within 180 days of enactment; and defines "executive agency" (per 41 U.S.C. 133) and "internationally recognized worker rights" (per 19 U.S.C. 2467(4)).

This section directs the Secretary of State, within 90 days of enactment, to submit to Congress (1) a determination on whether forced organ harvesting has occurred in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region from 2017 to enactment and to what extent, and (2) a strategy to address forced organ harvesting in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and hold accountable individuals and entities engaged in human trafficking for organ removal. The strategy must include (1) specific steps to address the practice in the PRC and an analysis of past effective deterrents; (2) details on bilateral and multilateral diplomatic outreach, including the number and level of discussions with Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states on forced organ harvesting and organ tourism by their citizens to the PRC; and (3) details on using Department of State rewards programs to obtain information on forced organ harvesting in the PRC and any need for additional congressional authorities or funding. The Secretary of State may consult with the Director of National Intelligence and other relevant agency heads.

This section directs the Secretary of State, as soon as practicable after enactment, to compile information on family members of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents detained or missing in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, particularly those detained to silence or intimidate such persons engaged in human rights advocacy or journalism or arrested for participating in Department of State programs (including Gulshan Abbas, Ekpar Asat, and Radio Free Asia employees). The section further specifies that the information be used by U.S. government officials and Members of Congress in interactions with People's Republic of China officials; directs consideration of aggregating the information by state and congressional district for Members of Congress; and requires consultations with the Uyghur-American community in compiling the information.

This section directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretaries of Defense, Agriculture, and Homeland Security and other relevant agency heads (and additionally with the Office of Management and Budget director and the Federal Acquisition Security Council), to submit to the appropriate congressional committees (i.e., Senate Foreign Relations and Appropriations Committees and House Foreign Affairs and Appropriations Committees), not later than 120 days after enactment, a report in unclassified form (possibly with a classified annex) on U.S. government procurement since FY2022 of raw or processed seafood and seafood products originating from China. The report must detail (1) amounts purchased by federal agency and locations of consumption by U.S. citizens (e.g., prisons, school cafeterias under federal education laws, congressional cafeterias, military installations including commissaries); (2) amounts processed in Shandong or Liaoning provinces or by factories employing Uyghur or North Korean labor; (3) whether such imports were prohibited under existing law, including section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307) (prohibiting goods made with forced, convict, or indentured labor), the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act provisions, or Executive Order 14068; (4) any agency rules limiting or prohibiting such purchases and their effects; and (5) national security implications, including estimated losses to U.S. seafood producers/processors without Chinese supply chains and benefits to North Korea from its nationals' labor in Chinese seafood factories.

This section prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from procuring seafood originating from or processed in the People's Republic of China (PRC) for military dining facilities, including galleys on U.S. naval vessels, subject to exceptions for facilities outside the United States if the prohibition would unduly burden operations, for U.S. vessels visiting foreign ports, and to a waiver by the Secretary of Defense. The section also amends 10 U.S.C. §2484, which authorizes commissary stores (i.e., DOD grocery stores for service members, retirees, and dependents) to sell seafood among other merchandise categories, to (1) prohibit sales of raw or processed PRC-origin seafood or seafood products at commissary stores, subject to a waiver by the Secretary; (2) require DOD briefings to congressional defense committees to assess compliance with the commissary sales prohibition; and (3) apply the commissary sales prohibition 30 days after enactment, with the Defense Commissary Agency director to determine disposal of remaining stock. All prohibitions and amendments take effect 90 days after enactment.