Justice For All’s Save Uyghur Campaign Statement on USCIRF’s 2025 Report on Human Rights Violations in Chinese Occupied East Turkistan

Justice For All’s Save Uyghur Campaign commends the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for its steadfast commitment to highlighting human rights and religious freedom violations in China. USCIRF’s 2025 report is a critical document that shines an uncompromising light on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime’s continued, systematic persecution of Uyghur Muslims in East Turkistan, also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region by the CCP.

The 2025 report underscores that religious freedom conditions under General Secretary Xi Jinping remain among the most dire globally. China persists in enforcing its “sinicization of religion” policy, demanding total allegiance of religious groups to the CCP. The campaign against Uyghur Muslims is particularly egregious, where updated regulations have heightened restrictions under the guise of sinicization. High-tech surveillance, transnational repression and disinformation campaigns are utilized extensively to suffocate dissent and silence Uyghur communities inside and outside China. The death of Imam Abidin Damollam, imprisoned for so-called “religious extremism,” is a testament to the brutality wielded against those who practice their faith authentically.

USCIRF’s previous recommendations have continuously highlighted the egregious nature of China’s religious repression, urging the U.S. government to impose sanctions and coordinate with international allies to address these abuses. Despite these calls, the systematic persecution persists, with ongoing violations exposing millions to human rights abuses and threatening regional stability by failing to hold CCP officials accountable.

In light of USCIRF’s findings, Justice For All encourages the U.S. government to:

• Redesignate China as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). Sanction Chinese officials and entities responsible for religious oppression, particularly those involved in the surveillance and coercion of religious groups on behalf of the Chinese state.
• Work collaboratively with global partners to enact stricter controls on China’s technological abuses that facilitate these human rights violations, lowering economic reliance on China and ensuring ethical governance of AI and other emerging technologies.

Overlooking these severe abuses undermines global human rights standards and the moral standing of democratic nations that champion freedom and justice. It is imperative the U.S. address these atrocities head-on and safeguard the sanctity of religious freedom for the Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in East Turkistan.