Congressman Carson’s Statement on the Uyghur Genocide

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman André Carson (IN-07) made the following statement regarding the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party hearing discussing the ongoing Uyghur genocide:

“This hearing comes at a pivotal time. Today marks the second day of the holy month of Ramadan, a time to reaffirm our commitment to peace and justice.  Today’s hearing demonstrates our Committee’s recognition of the unique and irreplaceable Uyghur people, and their right to practice their faith, to celebrate their culture and language, and to pass it down to their children.    

“In the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where most Uyghurs live, their birth rates have sharply declined in the last six years, attributable to a systematic state campaign to suppress birth rates. The Chinese government has increased their mass surveillance of the Uyghur people. Forced labor is integral to the government’s strategy, including ‘reeducation camps,’ where up to one million people are detained. These are all calculated, systemic attempts to eradicate Uyghur identity, culture, and religion.

“Some progress has been made. In 2021, Congress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which helped prevent goods produced in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region – almost certainly through forced labor of the Uyghur people – from entering U.S. But more work needs to be done. Unfortunately, the importation of some goods to the United States still has connections to Chinese repression against the Uyghur people, and that must end.

“Hearing directly from Uyghurs, especially eyewitnesses to the violence and atrocities committed by the Chinese government, is crucial to our Committee’s work.  We need facts to understand what happened, what is still happening, and the facts demonstrating the heavy emotional and physical toll on Uyghur families. Tonight’s witnesses experienced this abuse firsthand, and it is essential that we to shine a light on their stories.”