Uyghur Group Welcomes Key Laws in U.S. Defense Bill Addressing Human Rights Abuses
Uyghur-American activists have expressed their approval of the 2025 U.S. defense spending bill, which includes significant legislation addressing human rights abuses against Uyghurs in China, RFA reported yesterday.
The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, passed by Congress on December 18 and signed by President Biden on December 22, authorizes $895 billion in defense spending and extends the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act by five years, now set to expire in 2030.
The reauthorization mandates the federal government to monitor rights abuses in Xinjiang and impose sanctions on Chinese officials implicated in what the U.S. government labels as genocide against the Uyghur population. Omer Kanat, executive director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project, hailed the bill as “a gift of hope for Uyghurs,” thanking bipartisan congressional support for maintaining pressure on China.
Additionally, the defense package includes provisions preventing the U.S. military from purchasing solar energy products produced with forced labor in the Uyghur region. This builds on the 2021 Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which already prohibits the import of such products into the U.S. The legislation also requires the Pentagon to report on seafood procurement practices related to slave labor in China.
