S. 1542 — Uyghur Policy Act of 2025

This section states congressional findings on the People's Republic of China's (PRC) repression of Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), including a mass arbitrary-detention program affecting more than 1,000,000 individuals in political reeducation centers with inhumane conditions (e.g., torture, forced sterilization); Han Chinese migration pressures and discrimination; misuse of counterterrorism to justify violations; harassment of expatriates; PRC ratification of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and signature of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and genocide determinations by U.S. Secretaries of State Antony Blinken, Michael Pompeo, and Marco Rubio, as well as parliaments of the United Kingdom, Belgium, Czechia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Canada.

This section states the sense of Congress that the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) should (1) immediately open the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) to regular, transparent visits by the press, international organizations including the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, academic and human rights institutions, and foreign delegations including from the U.S. Congress; (2) protect and preserve the ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic identities of Uyghurs and other minorities in the XUAR, cease government-sponsored crackdowns, imprisonments, and detentions repressing those identities, and end transnational repression of Uyghurs including harassment of exiled Uyghurs' families; (3) commend countries including Turkey, Albania, and Germany for sheltering Uyghur and other minority exiles; (4) urge all countries, especially democracies and those with sizeable Muslim populations, to condemn and address the plight of Uyghurs and other XUAR minorities; (5) immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners detained for their ethnic, cultural, religious, or linguistic identities, political or religious expression, or diaspora ties—including Ekper Asat (serving a 15-year sentence for "inciting ethnic hatred"), Dr. Gulshan Abbas (sentenced to 20 years in 2018), and Kamile Wayit (detained in December 2022)—; (6) facilitate access by international humanitarian organizations including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to XUAR "political reeducation" centers to ensure humane treatment and medical care; and (7) the Department of State continue disseminating information on human rights, religious freedom, and transnational repression affecting Uyghurs and other XUAR minorities.

This section directs the Secretary of State, as appropriate, to take specified actions to strengthen U.S. coordination on Uyghur issues in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), including (1) prioritizing policies, programs, and projects to support Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups; (2) promoting protections for their ethnic, religious, cultural, and linguistic identities and human rights in the XUAR; (3) maintaining close contact with Uyghur leaders, including through travel to the XUAR and Uyghur diaspora communities; (4) leading coordination for the release of political prisoners in the XUAR; (5) consulting with Congress; (6) coordinating aid to Uyghur rights advocates; (7) establishing contacts with foreign ministries, especially in Europe, Central Asia, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC); (8) utilizing Strategic Dialogue with the OIC for Uyghur rights initiatives; (9) supporting independent media authorized under the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6208)—including Radio Free Asia (i.e., a U.S. government-funded broadcaster providing news and commentary to Asia)—for XUAR-focused reporting and investigative journalism in local languages; (10) working with international partners on transnational repression against Uyghurs; (11) establishing a reporting mechanism for such incidents; and (12) submitting an annual report to Congress, including a classified annex if necessary, on U.S. actions to address transnational repression against Uyghurs and recommendations for further measures. The section further requires the Department of State to have adequate resources to implement these actions and provides for a sunset five years after enactment.

This section directs $250,000 from appropriations for the Office of the United States Speaker Program of the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for each of FY2025 through FY2027 to support human rights advocates working on behalf of Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups persecuted in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). It further requires the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, in consultation with representatives of the global Uyghur community, to identify such advocates for invitation to speak at global public diplomacy forums—particularly events attended by representatives from Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries and other Muslim-majority countries—on human rights and religious freedom issues affecting those groups.

This section directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with other relevant federal departments and agencies, to develop within 180 days of enactment a strategy for cooperating with like-minded partners to pressure the People's Republic of China (PRC) government (1) to close all detention facilities and political reeducation camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) housing Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities; (2) to allow unhindered access to such facilities by independent media, researchers, international organizations, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for a human rights assessment; and (3) to protect human rights and preserve the religious and cultural identity of Uyghurs and other minorities in the XUAR. Within one year of enactment, the Secretary must submit to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and House Committee on Foreign Affairs a report on the strategy and implementation steps taken, including a classified annex if necessary.

This section requires the Secretary of State to ensure (1) Uyghur language training is available to Foreign Service officers, as appropriate, and (2) at least one Uyghur-speaking member of the Foreign Service (as defined in 22 U.S.C. 3903) is assigned to each U.S. diplomatic or consular post in China. It further requires the Foreign Service Institute to submit reports to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs outlining implementation steps no later than one year after enactment and annually thereafter for two years.

This section directs the President to instruct the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations to use the U.S. voice, vote, and influence at the United Nations (1) to oppose efforts to prevent consideration of gross human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in any UN body; (2) to oppose efforts to prevent participation by Uyghur human rights advocates in nongovernmental fora hosted or organized under UN auspices; and (3) to support appointment of a special rapporteur or working group on the XUAR to monitor such violations and report to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Commission on Human Rights, General Assembly, and other UN subsidiaries.