CAIR-LA was part of a contingent of more than 500 American Muslims that advocated for the passage of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019 (S.178) in April during Muslim Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill.
SEE: Muslim (Capitol) Hill Days
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z4wd_fbrPo&t
Your help is urgently needed to urge Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris to finalize the adoption of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019 (S.178) and for the White House to immediately enact the bill once it arrives on the president’s desk.
Previously adopted in the Senate, it is being reported that the bill will not go to conference to consider the House’s amendments but will instead go to the floor for a final vote.
In a statement, CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush urged Americans to call upon their elected officials to adopt S.178.
“What is happening to the Uyghurs is one of the worst cases of human rights abuses in recent history. It is unacceptable for our government to be rewarding China with economic deals and access to our markets when it is violating human rights at such levels.
“Fortunately, in America, we have the ability to contact our lawmakers and use our collective voice to compel Congress to act. It is imperative that Americans contact their senators and urge them to pass this important legislation.”
TAKE ACTION: Urge Final Adoption and Enactment of Uyghur Right’s Act
https://www.votervoice.net/CAIR/campaigns/69724/respond
The bill was introduced earlier this year in response to reports of gross human rights violations by Chinese officials against the country’s Uyghur population, including the mass internment of more than one million persons, pervasive high-tech surveillance across the Xinjiang province, and the systemic denial of the freedoms of expression, religion, and movement.
The bill would:
- Call for the imposition of sanctions on China under the International Religious Freedom Act
- Urge the application of sanctions against specific Chinese government officials under the Global Magnitsky Act
- Ask the Secretary of Commerce to consider prohibiting the sale of U.S.-made goods to Chinese state agents in the Xinjiang province
- Call on U.S. companies operating in Xinjiang to publicly assert that their commercial activities are not contributing to human rights violations
- Call on the Secretary of State to consider creating a special position, the Special Coordinator for Xinjiang, to coordinate the U.S. response to these human rights violations
- Call on the Secretary of State to submit a report detailing the number of persons detained in re-education camps, the conditions in those camps, and the surveillance methods used by authorities in the region
Uyghur Muslim concentration camp detainees report being forced to listen to lectures, learn Mandarin, sing songs praising the Chinese Communist Party, and are coerced into abandoning their faith. Some inmates are forced to eat pork and drink alcohol, both forbidden activities in Islam. Some are tortured. Muslim women detainees have reported being sexually assaulted, raped, forcefully sterilized, and made to have abortions in Chinese detention facilities.
CAIR-LA partnered with members of the Uyghur community living in the Greater Los Angeles area to meet with elected officials, hold numerous teach-ins and several rallies in support of Uyghur Muslims in China.
READ: CAIR-LA Joins Rally in Support of Uyghur Muslims
https://ca.cair.com/losangeles/updates/cair-la-joins-rally-in-support-of-uyghur-muslims/