June 6, 2019 | 9:00 a.m. EST
For Immediate Release
Contact: Omer Kanat +1 (202) 790-1795, Peter Irwin +1 (646) 906-7722

From June 6–7 2019, the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), in cooperation with the World Uyghur Congress, the Uyghur American Association (UAA), and the Central Asia Program at George Washington University will hold a two-day international conference in Washington DC, Confronting Atrocities in China: The Global Response to the Uyghur Crisis. Proceedings will begin at 10:00 with an opening ceremony on June 6th at Capitol Hill.

The conference comes at a critical time as Uyghurs are face an unprecedented attack on their identity through an extensive network of political indoctrination camps where up to two million have been arbitrarily detained since April 2017.

Despite greater attention to the issue in 2018 as a result of consistent activism, the camps continue to operate and China’s repression continues to escalate. In recognition of the seriousness and urgency of this issue, the WUC, UHRP, UAA and the Central Asia Program have organized this conference, inviting activists and experts from around the world to discuss the crisis.

The primary aim of the conference will be to bring together political leaders, international agencies, human rights activists, academic experts, Uyghur leaders and the Uyghur community abroad to provide updates on the responses underway and to collectively develop additional strategies to pressure the Chinese government to close the camps and respect Uyghurs’ and other Turkic Muslims’ fundamental rights.

The event will include speakers from various disciplines to discuss and address key questions on how best to galvanize further support for Uyghurs’ rights, to mount a coordinated campaign to pressure China to close the camps, ensure accountability for those responsible for ongoing abuses, and adopt measures to safeguard the fundamental rights of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in China and abroad. Discussion will focus on witness testimony, a review of evidence, legal and academic approaches, media responses, government responses, and the status of international human rights advocacy.

The conference will mark the first instance in which activists, political leaders, academics, lawyers and experts from a wide range of disciplines will be brought together to share expertise and collectively work towards solutions to push China to close the camps. The conference will look to formulate a holistic, multi-disciplinary and global response to the crisis.

The conference also intends to explore the repression of Uyghurs and the crisis in East Turkistan more broadly and conference outcomes are expected to include coordinated international advocacy and humanitarian-relief strategies for Uyghur refugees, children, and others affected by the crisis.

If you are interested in attending the event, please register through this link and wait for confirmation of your attendance.

Press Contacts:

Peter Irwin, Program Manager, WUC
peter@uyghurcongress.org

Omer Kanat, Director, UHRP
kanato@uhrp.org