WHO WE ARE
ABOUT US
Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2017 in response to the ongoing genocide of the Uyghur people by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the Uyghur region (commonly known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China). Our mission is to counter this genocide by exposing the CCP’s atrocities, mobilizing global grassroots movements, building solidarity with other persecuted communities, and empowering the Uyghur diaspora to lead effective awareness campaigns that drive democratic change. CFU is also a founding member of the Uyghur Wellness Initiative (UWI), which creates a safe space for Uyghurs to come together during this crisis, fostering individual, family, and community well-being. Our efforts have been internationally recognized: CFU was awarded the World Democracy Courage Tribute in July 2021 and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in both 2022 and 2025.
OUR HISTORY
In 2017, Rushan Abbas co-founded the Campaign for Uyghurs to advocate and promote human rights and democratic freedoms for Uyghurs, and mobilize the international community to act to stop the human rights atrocity in East Turkistan. Abbas launched multiple campaigns, including the One Voice One Step movement, a demonstration on March 15th, 2018, in 14 countries and 18 cities on the same day, and the Free Gulshan Abbas, reaching an international profile for her sister as well as missing Uyghurs.
Ms. Abbas works with groups in the United States, Canada, The UK, and other parts of Europe, Australia, Japan, and Turkey to highlight the Uyghur cause and in support of empowering Uyghur women and youth for activism.
In September 2018, Campaign for Uyghurs founder Rushan Abbas spoke at a panel hosted by the Hudson Institute about the mass detention of Uyghurs in their homeland. Six days after the event, Abbas’s sister, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, was taken from her home in Urumchi as retaliation for Abbas speaking out. Since then, she has become a full-time activist, and Campaign for Uyghurs has worked tirelessly to to raise awareness of the Uyghur genocide and mobilize action. CFU was instrumental in advocating for and the passage of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. CFU was also the founder of the Uyghur Caucus in the US Congress to further Uyghur issues.
In July 2020, CFU published the report “Genocide in East Turkistan” which laid out the ways that the actions of the Chinese regime met every condition of genocide laid out in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. Abbas first raised the case of Uyghurs as undergoing active genocide in May of 2019 while delivering speeches at the events hosted by the U.S. Embassies in Prague and Vienna and remained a vocal advocate for declaring the CCP’s crimes as such since then. In July 2021, Campaign For Uyghurs was awarded the World Democracy Courage Tribute.
In February 2022, Campaign for Uyghurs was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for activism and advocacy done to promote the Uyghur cause for freedom. Campaign for Uyghurs was nominated by US House of Representatives members Tom Suozzi and Chris Smith, who co-chair the Uyghur Caucus.
In February 2025, CFU was again nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by Representatives John Moolenaar, Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ranking Member of the same committee, in recognition of our continued efforts to advocate for justice and human rights for the Uyghur people.
We aim to create a world where every person feels the responsibility to counter genocide.
What is happening to the Uyghur people does not and will not exist in a vacuum. The Chinese Communist Party’s control over the media and its vast economic influence pose a direct threat to freedom and democracy worldwide. The same surveillance systems used to oppress Uyghurs are now being exported to authoritarian regimes, enabling the monitoring and control of their own citizens. The very foundations of a free world—where dissent and democracy can thrive—are at risk. The plight of the Uyghurs is emblematic of the rising tide of authoritarianism and the global failure to confront it.
Our vision is to build and empower a global community dedicated to preserving the free world that generations before us fought tirelessly to create. Standing up against the Chinese Communist Party and its crimes is not just about justice for the Uyghur people—it’s about safeguarding the future of freedom and democracy for all.
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mr. Wu'er Kaixi
Honorary Chairman
Ms. Rushan Abbas
Founder and Executive Director
Mr. Dilmurat Sulayman
Deputy Director
Mr. Kamalturk Yalkun
General Secretary
Ms. Mukerrem Kurban
Women's Outreach & Training Director
Ms. Reyhangul Mahmut
Director of Japan Outreach
Dr. Maya Mitalipova
Director of Central Asia Outreach
Ms. Mehliya Cetinkaya
Student Liaison For Canada
Ms. Dilnur Kroren
Student Liaison For Turkey
Ms. Dilare Helil
Student Liaison For USA
Ms. Asiye Ablet
Chairman of OVOS Women’s Committee