Washington DC [US], September 18 (ANI): The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has urged US President Donald Trump and his administration to raise the issue of what it describes as the “Uyghur genocide” during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to the United States.
According to a WUC press release, Xi is scheduled to visit the US on September 24, marking his first visit to the country since 2023. The organisation called on the US government to use the visit to raise concerns over China’s treatment of Uyghurs in East Turkistan and abroad, both privately and publicly.
The WUC said the United States has a record of supporting the Uyghur cause and drawing international attention to what it describes as China’s repression of Uyghurs. It noted that Washington formally recognized the situation as genocide on January 19, 2021.
The organisation also pointed to a US State Department statement issued on September 10, 2026, which, according to the WUC, reaffirmed the US position on the issue.
The WUC highlighted the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), enacted by the United States in 2021. According to the organisation, the legislation establishes a presumption that goods produced in East Turkistan using forced labour are prohibited from entering the US market unless importers demonstrate compliance with the law.
The WUC also cited the US Entity List, which restricts exports to designated entities. According to the press release, the list currently includes 187 entities following its largest-ever expansion in July 2026, when 43 companies were added.
“Xi’s visit to Washington is a strategic moment to move beyond words of condemnation on the Uyghur genocide,” WUC President Turgunjan Alawdun said, according to the press release.
“The United States has been a strong and vocal ally to the Uyghur people, and Donald Trump has to use this opportunity to continue proving it,” he added.
The WUC acknowledged what it described as US efforts to publicly raise the issue at both national and international levels, but said further action was necessary.
According to the organisation, millions of detained and disappeared individuals remain unaccounted for, while labour transfer programmes have increased in recent years and have, it alleged, forcibly displaced Uyghur workers and coerced them into employment.
The WUC further alleged that the implementation of what it calls the “Ethnic Unity and Progressive Law” has resulted in basic expressions of religious and cultural rights being criminalized.
The organisation also accused the Chinese government of attempting to disrupt Uyghur diaspora communities abroad through intimidation and threats, particularly targeting human rights activists on US soil.
The WUC said these developments required what it described as a “robust and coordinated response” from the United States and the international community.
It called on the Trump administration to substantively raise the issue of the Uyghur genocide during discussions with Xi Jinping and other Chinese officials during the visit, and to press Beijing to end what the organisation described as genocide and other human rights violations.
The WUC also called for China to honour its human rights obligations as part of efforts towards normal relations between Washington and Beijing.
The organisation urged the United States and President Donald Trump to take four key steps.
First, it called on Washington to raise the issue of the Uyghur genocide and other serious human rights violations during official discussions with China, as well as in future bilateral engagements.
Second, the WUC urged the US to press the Chinese government to end what it described as repression and systemic human rights abuses in East Turkistan. It also called on Beijing to fully implement international labour rights conventions it has recently ratified, including International Labour Organisation Convention No. 29 on Forced Labour and Convention No. 105 on the Abolition of Forced Labour.
Third, the organisation called for China to end what it described as transnational repression, particularly within US territory, in order to protect American Uyghur, Tibetan, Hong Kong and Chinese diaspora communities.
Finally, the WUC called for family reunification between Uyghur-Americans and relatives it said remain disappeared or missing. It specifically cited the children of Dr Rahila Dawut, Ilham Tohti, Dr Gulshan Abbas and Yalqun Rozi, who the organisation said reside in the United States.
The statements regarding repression, forced labour, disappearances and transnational repression in this report reflect allegations and positions presented by the World Uyghur Congress in its press release. (ANI)
WUC urges US to raise Uyghur genocide during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s US visit
