U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres Applauds Committee Passage of Bipartisan Bill Requiring Intelligence Reports on Uyghur Genocide, Pushes for Floor Vote and Final Passage

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres (NY-15), a member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinse Communist Party (CCP), today applauded the passage of his bipartisan legislation, H.R. 3349 – the “Uyghur Genocide Intelligence Review Act”, out of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence as part of the FY24 Intelligence Authorization Act and pushed for the bill to be swiftly brought to the floor for a full vote and final passage.

“There is clear and convincing evidence that the CCP intends to destroy the history, culture, identity, and existence of Uyghurs as a people, whose birthrates have already plummeted by 50% because of forced abortions and sterilizations.” said Rep. Torres. “The United States, as the leader of the free world, has a moral obligation to build a multilateral coalition and take legislative action aimed at confronting these horrific abuses and crimes against humanity. I’m grateful to my colleagues on the House Intelligence Committee for working in a bipartisan fashion to move my bill forward and am hopeful to see it on the floor for a full vote and final passage very soon. We must galvanize the full power and resources of the American intelligence community to provide the world with a much stronger, more comprehensive understanding of the scope and severity of the CCP’s targeted genocidal violence toward Uyghurs.”

The “Uyghur Genocide Intelligence Review Act” is the first key legislative priority officially adopted by the House Select Committee on the CCP to pass out of any congressional committee.

“The American people deserve a full understanding the CCP’s ongoing genocide against Uyghurs within the PRC,” said Ranking Member U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), a cosponsor of the bill. “This bill would make sure we shine a bright light on these atrocities so we can rally the world behind the steps necessary to end them. I want to thank Congressman Torres for his leadership in moving this bipartisan effort forward and hope to see it come to the floor immediately for a vote.”

The “Uyghur Genocide Intelligence Review Act” requires the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) within 180 days of being signed into law to coordinate with relevant heads of the intelligence community and submit to congressional intelligence committees a report on the Uyghur genocide addressing the following matters:

The forced sterilization, forced birth control, and forced abortion of Uyghurs.

• The forced transfer of Uyghur children from their families.
• The forced labor of Uyghurs, inside and outside Xinjiang.
• The work conditions of Uyghur laborers, including identification of any company organized under
  the laws of the People’s Republic of China.
• Any other forms of physical or psychological torture against Uyghurs.
• Any other actions that infringe on the rights of Uyghurs to live freely in accordance with their
  customs, culture, and religious practices.
• The methods of surveillance of Uyghurs, including surveillance via technology, law enforcement
  notifications, and forcing Uyghurs to live with other individuals for monitoring purposes.

ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS:
U.S. Reps. Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16), Nancy Mace (R-SC-01), John Moolenaar (R-MI-02), Seth Moulton (D-MA-06), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-18), and Daniel Kildee (D-MI-08).

ENDORSEMENTS:
“It is truly a policy win to see that up-to-date documentation on the Uyghur genocide will be required as part of the FY24 Intelligence Authorization Act,” said Omer Kanat, Executive Director, Uyghur Human Rights Project. “We are thankful to Rep. Torres and his staff for ensuring that the policy recommendations of the Select Committee are being pushed forward. A failure to address atrocity crimes will only further destabilize the entire global community.”

BACKGROUND:
The CCP for several years has resorted to extremely repressive policies and practices and other human rights abuses, including internment camps, torture, forced labor, political indoctrination, and mass surveillance, to try and forcefully assimilate what’s believed to be at least one million Uyghurs into mainstream CCP culture and eradicate their identity, culture, religion, and presence in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

Earlier this year, Rep. Torres participated in a hearing of the select committee that examined the genocide’s horrific impact and included heartbreaking, firsthand testimony from a labor concentration camp survivor.

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