U.S. Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY), who are the co-chairs of the Congressional Uygher Caucus, introduced legislation to increase the U.S. efforts against genocide of Uyghurs committed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

HR8124, titled the Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act (UGASA), would  strengthen provisions first made in the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 to ensure Chinese officials are held accountable for any human rights violations made against Uyghurs or other minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The bill includes actions that would expand sanctions on any CCP officials responsible for actions of genocide, restrict any U.S. agencies from working with businesses that have been implicated in forced labor, and providing funding for organizations working to document the atrocities occuring to Uyghur and others in the region. 

“This critical legislation will help address the horrific abuses we have seen directed at Uyghurs and other predominantly-Muslim Central Asian people by Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party—from forced labor to the forced harvesting of Uyghur organs,” Smith said. “Xi Jinping gave his henchmen the order to ‘show no mercy. From the highest level to the lowest concentration camp guard, we will hold the perpetrators of these horrific abuses accountable.”

“The Chinese Communist Party has committed horrific abuses against the Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic and religious minorities in China,” Suozzi said. “This legislation would expand our sanctions effort against Chinese officials perpetrating these crimes and provide technical assistance for documenting human rights abuses.”