CFU PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5th, 2026
Contact: contact@campaignforuyghurs.org
https://campaignforuyghurs.org/
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Report Condemns China’s Uyghur Oppression
On March 4th, 2026, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its annual report confirming the Chinese government’s ongoing oppression of the Uyghur people.
An independent, bipartisan legislative branch agency created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), USCIRF monitors the universal right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) abroad; makes policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress; and tracks the implementation of these recommendations.
USCIRF’s analysis condemned China’s ongoing genocide against Uyghurs and other ethnoreligious groups under the People’s Republic of China’s occupation. The deportation of 40 Uyghur men from Thailand back to China was emphasized, as well as the CCP’s persistent disinformation campaigns attempting to whitewash the genocide and bury the facts.
USCIRF also noted the U.S. Administration and members of Congress’s bipartisan support. Members of the Trump administration spoke out against the Uyghur genocide happening in East Turkistan (Also known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region), and the House of Representatives passed the Uyghur Policy Act of 2025. Members of Congress Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), and Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) sent a letter on behalf of the Congressional Executive Committee on China requesting that President Trump prioritize cases from USCIRF’s FoRB Victims List – including, specifically, Dr. Gulshan Abbas.
The report also recommended redesignating China “as a ‘country of particular concern (CPC),’ for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom,” allocating additional funding to programs such as Radio Free Asia which document China’s religious freedom abuses, encouraging the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute Chinese officials engaging in transnational repression, and passing legislation which supports those fleeing religious persecution and tightens export controls to root out forced labor.
CFU is grateful to see the Uyghur atrocity highlighted so centrally in this year’s 2026 USCIRF report. CFU trusts that the U.S. government will take these recommendations to heart. While 2025 saw material successes, the Uyghur genocide continues unabated. It is the responsibility of all nations and governments to do their part to stop this genocide.
“The 2026 USCIRF report sheds an important light on the ongoing genocide happening in the Uyghur homeland,” said CFU Executive Director Rushan Abbas, and sister of the mentioned FoRB Victim Dr. Gulshan Abbas. “It is essential that the United States government moves swiftly to enact the recommendations laid out in this report to ensure the end of the Uyghur genocide.”
