Open Letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi from Uyghur Organizations Urging the Passage of House Resolution 317

  • May 19, 2021

May 18, 2021
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Via email

Re: H.Res.317

Dear Madam Speaker:

We the undersigned groups, urge swift passage of House Resolution 317, condemning the
ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity committed against the Uyghur people and
calling on the President to take “all possible actions” to end these atrocity crimes.

No time is to be lost. The ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghur
people must be addressed on an emergency basis.

We commend House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Michael McCaul for
introducing the Resolution, and Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks for swift action to secure
Committee approval on April 21. We hope you will bring the motion to the floor very soon.
The bipartisan Resolution calls upon the President to “use the voice, vote, and influence of the
United States” to refer the People’s Republic of China’s genocide and crimes against humanity
against Uyghurs and other Turkic groups to the United Nations for investigation.

Crucially, the Resolution calls for the President to direct the US Permanent Mission to the
United Nations to “seize the United Nations Security Council of the circumstances of this
genocide and crimes against humanity and lead efforts to invoke multilateral sanctions in
response to these ongoing atrocities; and take all possible actions to bring this genocide and
these crimes against humanity to an end and hold the perpetrators of these atrocities
accountable under international law.”

Uyghurs in the diaspora around the world, and groups concerned with genocide prevention,
religious freedom, and human rights for all, fully endorse this Resolution and urge swift
passage.

Most sincerely yours,

Uyghur American Association
Uyghur Human Rights Project
Campaign for Uyghurs
World Uyghur Congress
Australian East Turkistan Association
Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women’s
Association
Belgium Uyghur Association
Boston Uyghur Association
Dutch Uyghur Human Rights and
Democracy Foundation
East Turkistan Association of Canada
East Turkistan Education and Solidarity
Association
East Turkistan Foundation
East Turkistan Human Rights Watch
East Turkistan Union in Europe
Isa Yusuf Alptekin Foundation
Japan Uyghur Association
Norwegian Uyghur Committee
Nozugum Foundation
Sweden Uyghur Education Union
Switzerland Uyghur Association
UK Uighur Association
Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy
Center
Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project
Uyghur Transitional Justice Database
Victoria Uyghur Association
Global Center for the Responsibility to
Protect
No Business with Genocide
Jewish World Watch
Minaret Foundation
Jewish Community Relations
Council/American Jewish Committee Detroit
(JCRC/AJC Detroit)
Jewish Movement for Uyghur Freedom
Justice for All – Save Uighur Campaign
Victims of Communism Memorial
Foundation
Hong Kong Democracy Council, US
Human Rights in China
Humanitarian China
International Campaign for Tibet (ICT)
International Tibet Network Secretariat
China Against the Death Penalty
China Aid
Citizen Power Initiatives for China
Dialogue China

PDF of Full Letter.

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