Since 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has subjected Uyghurs and other Muslim groups to human rights abuses. In 2017, this worsened with the CCP’s campaign of internment, imprisoning an estimated two million people in so-called “vocational training centers.” Many Uyghurs, both inside and outside these camps, have been forced into slave labor. Seeking to comprehensively erase the Uyghur ethnic identity and contributions to civil and cultural life, the CCP also continues to undermine and erase Uyghur religion, language, and culture. In 2021, the Uyghur Tribunal declared these actions to be genocide.
In response, the Uyghur Academy, in partnership with the World Uyghur Congress, Campaign for Uyghurs, Center for Uyghur Studies, and Uyghur American Association hosted an event on Capitol Hill with distinguished experts and bipartisan representatives of U.S. Congress to address the Uyghur genocide, transnational repression, and cultural destruction carried out by the Chinese Communist Party.
National Endowment for Democracy’s President AND CEO Damon Wilson provided the following remarks:
“First of all, thank you—this is powerful to be here. To hear so many members of Congress, so many allies of the Uyghur community, come here to do what America does best, and that is to stand up for those who are oppressed around the world. To understand that freedom is our comparative advantage and to see how extraordinarily bipartisan this cause is with members that are here, and to understand that we’re actually here because of the agency of you—the Uyghur community leaders who have helped build this, and give voice to the voiceless. It’s an honor to be a part of this.
Three years ago, in 2021, the Uyghur Tribunal, an independent tribunal composed of barristers and scholars, concluded after an extensive investigation that the Chinese regime had committed the crime of genocide. One of the most important findings of the Uyghur Tribunal was establishing the CCP government’s intent to implement policies that amounted to genocide, killing a people in whole or in part.
Unfortunately, as we approach the third anniversary of the Uyghur Genocide Recognition Day on December 9th, the Chinese government’s intent and its policies have not significantly changed.
It remains committed to controlling Uyghurs’ ability to define their own culture. It remains committed to extinguishing that culture. And most worryingly, hundreds of thousands of people have been deprived of their liberty since 2017—placed in prisons or other facilities—without due process.
The CCP claims that the internment camp system has ended, but until all people who have been arbitrarily detained are freed, whether in prisons or concentration camps, and until this can be verified by the international community, we cannot stop pressing.
For many people in this room this is more than policy, although policy matters, legislation matters—it’s personal. We honor you for your courage and leadership knowing you have family members and friends in this exact situation.
So, I don’t need to tell you that so many Uyghurs remain at extreme risk today. This is an issue today that we cannot ignore. As President and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy, I want to assure you that we wake up every day thinking about your friends and family.
And I’m really proud that the Endowment has been supporting Uyghurs for two decades. . And as the largest institutional donor to the community, we will continue to be your steadfast partner for the Uyghur cause as you confront the CCP’s genocidal policies.
The impact of these policies in East Turkistan, combined with the CCP’s reach across border to intimidate and repress and silence Uyghur activists, can be so devastating that it can feel overwhelming. But when I see what you have done in such tough circumstances, I see a lot of hope.
If we take a step back, and we think back to when NED starting sitting down, with my predecessor Carl [Gershman] and other colleagues, with the Uyghur community, some twenty years ago, many people around the world didn’t know who the Uyghurs were. Many people, unfortunately, probably bought into the CCP’s false narrative of that Uyghurs must be Muslims associated with terrorism.
Now, nearly everyone in Washington and other key capitals are aware of the human rights abuses facing Uyghurs.
The CCP’s narrative has been largely debunked, as we witness the unjust imprisonment of countless ordinary people – farmers, doctors, professors, entrepreneurs, artists.
While the United Nations has been disappointing in this moment of crisis, the UN’s Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights did issue a landmark report that concluded that the Chinese government may be committing crimes against humanity.
We have seen the UN’s special rapporteurs have documented serious concerns. Corporations have become far more conscious of their responsibility not to engage in forced labor. Kudos to you, we heard a little bit of the details today of your activism, of the most recent example of Volkswagen.
All of these are important changes. But they don’t just happen. All of these changes were driven by the hard work of Uyghur groups and activists, many here today.
And we are so proud to support you, to support your work. And even as we stay outraged by the continuing genocide, we have to recognize that this work, this advocacy, these pieces of legislation, this is what change represents. This is what impact is. This is how we measure increments of success towards a much larger goal.
Change can be slow, but it is possible. And we know that so much more needs to be done. We are laser focused: doubling down on this type of support.
As you gather here today in the midst of preserving and honoring this culture, and protecting your loved ones, I want you to know that the National Endowment for Democracy will give unwavering support and walk shoulder to shoulder with you through this journey.
It’s an honor. Thank you, Rushan, Rishat, Hakim, Elfidar, Zumretay, and all who organized this important event.”
~ Remarks by NED President and CEO Damon Wilson on December 4, 2024,
Dirksen Senate Office Building, Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
