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The Biden Administration has been slow to implement sanctions under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, which became law in 2020, and seeks to hold the perpetrators of the Uyghur genocide accountable. 

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI) released a statement following the Biden Administration’s announcement to issue sanctions on some Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act.

• “While we welcome this news, the Biden Administration has dragged its feet to implement sanctions under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act (UHRPA) for far too long. Most alarmingly absent from the administration’s designations is Ma Xingrui, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) boss in Xinjiang, who is responsible for implementing the CCP’s genocidal policies against the Uyghurs and other ethnic groups. 

• The administration must not allow Ma’s status as a CCP Politburo member to shield him from U.S. targeted sanctions in the continued pursuit of a failed engagement strategy. Secretary Blinken must explain why the top CCP official in Xinjiang—who implements Xi Jinping’s genocide—does not meet the criteria for U.S. sanctions. If the administration refuses to hold the major perpetrators of the Uyghur genocide accountable, Congress will take the lead on human rights where the administration has thrown in the towel.”

Want more information? 

• August 2023: Rubio, Colleagues Demand Accountability for Importation of Products Tainted With Uyghur Forced Labor
• July 2023: Rubio, Banks Call for Further Sanctions on Uyghur Human Rights Enablers
• April 2023: Rubio, Colleagues Reintroduces Uyghur Policy Act
• November 2022: Rubio, Smith Vow to Oppose U.S. Business Efforts to Weaken Uyghur Forced Labor Bill
• September 2022: Rubio Slams UN Human Rights Office for Yielding to CCP Pressure on Uyghur Report