CFU PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 4, 2025, 4:30 PM EST
Contact: contact@campaignforuyghurs.org 
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https://campaignforuyghurs.org 

Uyghur Organizations Applaud Introduction of Bipartisan Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act

Washington, D.C. — On August 1st, five leading Uyghur organizations, Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU), Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), Uyghur American Association (UAA), Uyghur Academy, and the Center for Uyghur Studies (CUS), were represented and welcomed the introduction of the bipartisan, bicameral Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act (UGASA) at a press conference in Washington, D.C.

The landmark bill, introduced by Senator Dan Sullivan, Chair of the Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC); CECC Co-Chair Congressman Chris Smith, and Congressman Tom Suozzi, Co-Chair’s of the Bi-Partisan Congressional Uyghur Caucus, and Senator Jeff Merkley, CECC Commissioner; strengthens U.S. tools to confront the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples. Congressman John Moolenaar, the Chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, also joined in co-sponsoring the legislation.

UGASA mandates sanctions on individuals and entities complicit in forced labor, mass surveillance, and forced organ harvesting. It bars the U.S. government from procuring goods linked to Uyghur forced labor, requires regular public reporting on atrocity crimes, provides support to survivors, and demands accountability for the missing and detained relatives of Uyghur Americans. The bill also increases oversight of U.S. companies and institutions that may be complicit in repression through investments or technology transfers.

The press conference, which included Piero Tozzi, senior staff to Rep. Chris Smith and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and Tejkaran Kaur Bains, senior staff to Rep. Tom Suozzi, Co-Chairs of the Congressional Uyghur Caucus, highlighted the strong and unified support for UGASA, the Uyghur diaspora, and the Uyghur people facing ongoing genocide.

“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,” said Rushan Abbas, Executive Director of CFU. “UGASA is the next needed step toward accountability for the enduring Uyghur genocide.”

Campaign for Uyghurs urges the House and Senate to swiftly pass the Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act.