Washington DC [US], August 3 : In a bipartisan push to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for its ongoing human rights atrocities, Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chair and Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), have introduced the Uyghur Genocide and Sanctions Accountability Act of 2025, a sweeping bill aimed at addressing the genocide against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in China.
The legislation, supported by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Tom Suozzi (D-NY), both CECC Commissioners, as well as Representative John Moolenaar (R-MI), Chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, is the most comprehensive US response to date targeting the CCP's campaign of ethnic and religious persecution.
According to Senator Dan Sullivan, the bill is a direct response to "clear evidence" of genocide, including mass internment, forced sterilisation, and state-run labour camps. He emphasised that this legislation will not only sanction the perpetrators but also prohibit imports tied to forced labour, especially Chinese seafood linked to Uyghur and North Korean exploitation.
Representative Chris Smith underscored the urgency, stating, "Genocide is not a relic of the past; it is happening now, on our watch. This bill responds with clear-eyed resolve, targeted sanctions, visa bans, survivor support, and strong measures to end complicity in these crimes."
Key provisions of the Uyghur Genocide and Sanctions Accountability Act, introduced by Sullivan and Smith, include expanded sanctions for atrocities like forced organ harvesting, child separation, and coercive sterilisations; mandatory visa bans for foreign nationals involved in population control and abuse; a ban on Chinese seafood products in US Department of Defence facilities due to forced labour links; and support services for Uyghur and Kazakh survivors of detention and torture, government procurement bans for companies tied to Uyghur forced labour, counter-disinformation efforts to confront CCP propaganda denying the genocide, preservation of Uyghur culture and language, threatened by Beijing's assimilation policies.
Senator Merkley also called the legislation a vital extension of previous laws, such as the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act, saying it's necessary to stop "China's horrifying surveillance regime and so-called 're-education' camps."
Representative Suozzi echoed this, labelling the CCP's actions as "ethnic cleansing" and calling for swift passage of the bill to support international accountability efforts.
As Senator Sullivan and Representative Smith made clear, this bipartisan legislation represents a firm US stance, noting "If we truly believe in human dignity, then accountability must be the foundation of our policy toward China."
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