Uyghur Human Rights Policy Reauthorization Act (S.4465 and H.R.8366)

(Passed by the House December 11, 2024, passed by the Senate December 18, 2024, and signed by the President on December 23, 2024)

The Uyghur Human Rights Policy Reauthorization Act of 2024 (S. 4465) was introduced on June 5, 2024 in the Senate, by sponsor Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and cosponsor Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR). 

The House bill including the same reauthorization, H.R.8366, was introduced May 10, 2024 in the House, by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), sponsor, and Representative James McGovern (D-MA), cosponsor. The bill was also cosponsored by Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) and 

Rep. Joe Wilson(R-SC). The House bill title: “To extend authorities to impose sanctions under certain laws relating to Hong Kong, Tibet, and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.”

Enactment

The bill became law as SEC. 7812 of the year-end NDAA authorization act. It extended Global Magnitsky sanctions for another five years, for perpetrators of atrocities against Uyghurs. 

Read the UHRP press release: UHRP Welcomes Renewal of U.S. Sanctions (December 2024)

Explanation

The Uyghur Human Rights Policy Reauthorization Act of 2024 added a five-year extension of the Global Magnitsky sanctions and other provisions of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020, which was signed into law on June 17, 2020.

Under the authority of the 2020 Act, the U.S. had imposed Global Magnitsky human rights sanctions on 12 perpetrators of atrocity crimes against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples, as of December 2024: 10 officials and two government agencies. A full list of these Global Magnitsky sanctions can be found at the UHRP U.S. Sanctions Tracker.

These targeted human-rights sanctions and provisions were set to expire in June 2025, as specified in the “Sunset” clause, Section 6(h), of the 2020 Act. 

The sponsor and co-sponsor of the Senate bill stated, in introducing the bill, that the provisions of the 2020 Act are crucial for continuing U.S. support for the human rights of Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in China. As the original bill seeks to confront ongoing human rights abuses perpetrated by the Chinese government, including torture, imprisonment, forced labor, and cultural suppression targeting Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang, by reauthorizing these measures for another five years, the United States aims to hold China accountable for its actions while providing protection and support for the victims of these atrocities.

The reauthorization:

  • Amends Section 6(h) of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–145; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note) by striking ‘‘5 years after’’ and inserting “10 years after’’.

Visit the UHRP U.S. Legislation Tracker for other bills endorsed by the Uyghur Human Rights Project.