UHRP Welcomes Renewal of U.S. Sanctions, Procurement Ban on Uyghur Forced Labor Goods

US-Congress UHRP_2024-12-30

For immediate release
December 30, 2024 | 10:00 a.m. EST
Contact: Omer Kanat (202) 790-1795, Peter Irwin (646) 906-7722

UHRP welcomes the renewal of Global Magnitsky human rights sanctions on Chinese government officials, in year-end legislation signed by President Biden on December 22. The law ensures that the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act does not “sunset” in 2025, but will be in effect for a minimum of 10 years from its enactment on June 17, 2020.

“It’s a gift of hope for Uyghurs,” said Omer Kanat, UHRP Executive Director. “Congressional leaders stand with the Uyghur people to dial up the pressure to end the atrocities in our homeland.”

He continued: “We thank the Republicans and Democrats who came together in the House and the Senate to re-authorize the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020, to ensure that sanctions continue.”

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by the Congress on December 18 incorporates:

  • The Uyghur Human Rights Policy Reauthorization Act of 2024 (S. 4465), introduced by Senator Marco Rubio (R), for himself and Senator Jeff Merkley (D).
  • A bill to extend authorities to impose sanctions under certain laws relating to Hong Kong, Tibet, and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (H.R.8366), introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R) for himself and Rep. Jim McGovern (D), and co-sponsored by Rep. Dean Phillips (D) and Rep. Joe Wilson (R).

For the first time, the Congress passed two worldwide safeguards against federal procurement for goods made with Uyghur forced labor. The ban on such imports into the U.S. have been enforced since 2022 under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The new 2025 provisions extend coverage to goods used by the Department of Defense anywhere in the world:

  • A procurement ban on the use of federal funds to “buy any solar energy products made in the Uyghur Region or any other place in China, which are known to be produced with forced labor,” by the Department of Defense (SEC. 7208).
  • In the “Joint Explanatory Note,” the Congress requires a report on procurement and forced labor in seafood, specifically a report on whether the Department has in place “policies and procedures to verify that the food the Department procures does not include seafood originating in the People’s Republic of China the importation of which is prohibited under section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (Public Law 71–361).”

In November, UHRP supported a joint advocacy call for the re-authorization of human-rights sanctions protecting the human rights of Hong Kongers and Tibetans, along with the International Campaign for Tibet, Campaign for Uyghurs, Washingtonians Supporting Hong Kong, Students for a Free Tibet, Hong Kong Democracy Council, Uyghur American Association, and Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation.

Read more:

UHRP Commends Canada’s Targeted Sanctions on Chinese Officials, Calls for Greater Multilateral Cooperation, December 11, 2024
UHRP Issues Policy Agenda on Uyghur Genocide for New Administration and 119th Congress, December 3, 2024
Sanctions Must Not Lapse: UHRP Calls for Reauthorization of Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020, Measures on Hong Kong and Tibet, November 18, 2024