Save Uyghur Campaign Welcomes the Appointment of Uyghur-American Elnigar Iltebir to US National Security Council

Elnigar Iltebir, a Harvard-educated academic and daughter of a prominent Uygur intellectual, has been appointed to the US National Security Council’s director for China.

In the role, Iltebir will advise the president and senior White House officials on US China policy, one of the most critical priorities for the Trump administration, including issues related to trade, military, and human rights, according to Foreign Policy. 

The Uyghur community is welcoming the news and hoping for advocacy for the East Turkestan cause in this high-power position. This is in special light of China’s mass internment of over 1.5 million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in internment camps, where detainees are forced to denounce their faith and ethnic identity. 

“It is a serious gesture in support of Uyghurs. However, one must go beyond symbolism and use the Global Magnitsky Act to put sanctions on those responsible for running the largest concentration camps since the Nazis,” said Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, Chair of the Save Uyghur Campaign.