Uyghur Policy Act of 2025

The bill would direct the Secretary of State to prioritize policies and programs supporting Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). It would require the State Department to lead international coordination efforts for the release of XUAR political prisoners, maintain contact with Uyghur community leaders, establish a mechanism for reporting incidents of transnational repression, and submit annual reports to Congress on actions taken. Within 180 days of enactment, the Secretary would be required to develop a strategy — coordinated with like-minded partner nations — to pressure China to close detention facilities and allow independent access to them. The bill would also require Uyghur language training for Foreign Service officers and the assignment of at least one Uyghur-speaking diplomat to each U.S. post in China.

The bill authorizes $250,000 per year for FY2025–FY2027 from existing Speaker Program funds for human rights advocates to speak at public diplomacy forums, particularly in Muslim-majority countries. It explicitly states that no additional appropriations are authorized; all requirements must be carried out with already-authorized funds. The coordination authorities under Section 4 terminate five years after enactment.

The Department of State, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and the Foreign Service Institute would face new operational requirements. Uyghur Americans and Uyghur exiles in the United States would benefit from the new transnational-repression reporting mechanism. Uyghur human rights advocates worldwide could receive support to speak at international forums. Foreign Service officers assigned to China posts would be subject to new Uyghur language training and staffing requirements.

If enacted, the State Department would be legally required — not merely encouraged — to pursue Uyghur-focused diplomacy, develop a concrete strategy on detention camps, assign Uyghur-speaking diplomats to China posts, and report those efforts to Congress annually. Uyghur Americans facing harassment or surveillance from Chinese agents would gain a formal federal reporting channel. The five-year sunset and no-new-funds limitation constrain the bill's durability and reach.

The Secretary of State would develop a detention-facility strategy within 180 days, in consultation with other agency heads, and report its implementation to the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees within one year. The Foreign Service Institute would report annually for three years on language training progress. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs would allocate up to $250,000 per year from existing Speaker Program appropriations to selected Uyghur-rights advocates, with names sourced in consultation with the global Uyghur community. The transnational repression reporting mechanism and annual congressional reports would run for the five-year life of Section 4.