Xinjiang: Chairs’ Statement On Announcement of Global Magnitsky Sanctions

July 10, 2020

(Washington, D.C)—Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA) and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) issued the following statement following the announcement of Global Magnitsky sanctions for Chinese government officials in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

“The announced sanctions are important and long overdue, and we welcome them. At the same time, these sanctions should not be the final action taken to address one of the world’s worst human rights situations. For over two years Members of Congress have called for Global Magnitsky sanctions against Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo and other XUAR officials, and have persistently advocated for Chinese officials to be held accountable for likely crimes against humanity. It is essential that our partners and allies around the world take similar action and continue to work together on behalf of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other ethnic minorities suffering mass internment, forced labor, coerced sterilizations, and forced renunciations of faith.”  

In March, the Chairs issued a report on forced labor in the XUAR and introduced bicameral legislation, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, to stop U.S. imports of forced labor made goods. On July 2nd, the Chairs led a letter with 76 other Members of the House and Senate calling on the State Department and the Department of the Treasury to issue an atrocities determination for the XUAR and use Global Magnitsky sanctions for those officials conducting forced sterilizations and coercive population control efforts targeting Uyghur and Kazakh women.