UGASA, a new bipartisan U.S. bill, aims to confront China’s genocide against Uyghurs. Uyghur organizations welcomed the move, urging swift action from Congress.
Five prominent Uyghur advocacy groups have expressed strong support for the Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act (UGASA), introduced on August 1 in the U.S. Congress. The bipartisan and bicameral legislation is seen as a major step toward holding the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for its ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples.
The Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU), Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), Uyghur American Association (UAA), Uyghur Academy, and the Center for Uyghur Studies (CUS) were all represented at a press conference held in Washington, D.C., marking the formal introduction of the bill.
The legislation was spearheaded by Senator Dan Sullivan (Chair, Congressional Executive Commission on China), Congressman Chris Smith (Co-Chair, CECC), Congressman Tom Suozzi (Co-Chair, Congressional Uyghur Caucus), and Senator Jeff Merkley (CECC Commissioner). Congressman John Moolenaar, Chair of the House Select Committee on the CCP, also joined as a co-sponsor.
If passed, UGASA would:
- Impose sanctions on individuals and entities involved in forced labor, mass surveillance, and forced organ harvesting.
- Prohibit the U.S. government from purchasing products tied to Uyghur forced labor.
- Require public reporting on atrocity crimes.
- Provide support to survivors.
- Demand accountability for missing and detained relatives of Uyghur Americans.
- Strengthen oversight on U.S. institutions potentially complicit through investments or technology transfers.
The press conference also featured Piero Tozzi, senior advisor to Rep. Chris Smith and the CECC, and Tejkaran Kaur Bains, senior advisor to Rep. Tom Suozzi, both of whom emphasized the bipartisan unity behind the legislation and the urgent need to support Uyghurs.
Rushan Abbas, Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghurs, emphasized the personal and national significance of the bill:
“This bill urges the U.S. to demand answers from Beijing and to prioritize the reunification of Americans with their missing or detained relatives. This means the world to me, and thousands of Uyghur Americans as our loved ones continue to suffer unjust detention and imprisonment at the hands of the CCP. UGASA is the next needed step toward accountability for the enduring Uyghur genocide.”
Campaign for Uyghurs has urged lawmakers in both chambers to prioritize and swiftly pass the Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act.
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