For Uyghurs in Central Asia, US Diplomacy Could Be a Lifeline

October 14, 2026 | The Diplomat | Omer Kanat

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be leading a delegation of more than 200 American business leaders to Uzbekistan this coming weekend. With this visit, Rubio has an opportunity to give hope to Uyghurs worldwide by publicly raising their plight in Central Asia. 

In 2019, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised the Uyghur issue publicly at a meeting with Central Asian foreign ministers, urging them not to send Uyghurs back to China. Pompeo pressed the issue again with Kazakh leaders during a 2020 visit. His words resonated deeply, and Uyghurs in Central Asia felt like they finally had an advocate. Rubio now has an opportunity to reaffirm and strengthen that message. 

Central Asia is both a critical refuge and a dangerous crossroads for Uyghurs fleeing China’s genocide. More than 400,000 Uyghurs live in Central Asia – making up the vast majority of the Uyghur diaspora outside of East Turkistan. China’s transnational repression extends deep into the region. Central Asian governments face mounting pressure from Beijing to silence Uyghur activists, suppress Uyghur civil society, and deport refugees to China.

Amid these conditions, Uyghurs in Central Asia face suffocating uncertainty. Some who escaped China’s abuses are in hiding. Many Central Asian-born Uyghurs self-censor out of fear. They are pressured not only by Beijing, but also by Central Asian governments that worry about Chinese retaliation. When we speak privately with Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, and others, we hear sympathy and support for Uyghur communities, but also fear of repercussions should they raise Uyghur human rights issues publicly. They fear not just provoking China, but angering their own governments.

As a result, Uyghurs in these countries often have no one to speak for them. In Central Asia, nearly every sizable ethnic minority group has a neighboring state that may intervene when their rights are violated – except the Uyghurs. Uyghurs have no government defending their rights, no state advocating for their safety. When Uyghur refugees escaped into Kazakhstan in the past, local Uyghurs who quietly offered food or shelter were themselves detained or threatened. This is what happens in a region where China’s shadow looms large and where silence has become a survival strategy.

Rubio has long been one of the most prominent American voices defending the Uyghur people. As a senator, he co-authored the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, groundbreaking legislation that barred goods made with forced labor from entering the U.S. market. During his secretary of state confirmation hearing, he pledged to press Thailand not to deport at-risk Uyghur refugees. However, the U.S. failed to stop Thailand from deporting 40 Uyghurs to China in February 2025. These individuals disappeared and their fates remain unknown.

This upcoming trip to Central Asia gives Rubio a chance to show that the United States won’t countenance a repeat of that tragedy. With the right messaging, the trip can fortify China’s neighbors to stand firm against Beijing’s pressure to return Uyghurs to China. International law is clear: no one should be returned to a country where they face torture, detention, or other grave abuses. The principle of non-refoulement is not optional. Uyghur refugees who are returned to China face near-certain detention and abuse.

The trip should also highlight U.S. policy to work with other governments to resist the expanding apparatus of Chinese influence. The same companies who helped build the surveillance state in the Uyghur region have exported their technology to Central Asia. Governments in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan have adopted “smart city” surveillance networks with facial recognition cameras and data-monitoring tools that enable the tracking of Uyghurs. Beijing-backed hackers have used telecommunications networks to spy on Uyghurs in Kazakhstan. Under pressure from the CCP, the Kazakhstan government sentenced 19 Kazakh activists to prison for peacefully protesting the Chinese government’s policies in East Turkistan.

With Uyghur life under assault in our homeland, especially after the implementation of China’s “ethnic unity” law, diaspora communities in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan have become vital guardians of our people’s history. They deserve the freedom to promote their culture, language, and traditions without fear.

The Uyghur people have not forgotten Rubio’s past advocacy. By pressing Central Asian governments to protect Uyghurs from deportation, resist Beijing’s coercion, and safeguard the cultural and human rights of Uyghur communities, Rubio can demonstrate that America’s moral leadership still matters.

A key objective of this visit must be to show that commitment endures – and that the United States will take concrete action to counter China’s malign influence in the region.

Read the op-ed in The Diplomat: https://thediplomat.com/2026/10/for-uyghurs-in-central-asia-us-diplomacy-could-be-a-lifeline/