Munich [Germany] May 7 (ANI): The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has urged United States President Donald Trump to raise the issue of the Uyghur genocide and press China over alleged human rights abuses during his upcoming visit to China on May 15, which will mark his first trip to the country during his second term in office, according to a WUC press release.

The WUC said that ahead of the visit, President Trump had indicated interest in expanding cooperation with China in sectors including rare earth materials, electric vehicles, and other industries that the organisation claims are linked to the use of Uyghur forced labour within global supply chains.

In its statement, the WUC called on President Trump and the US government to use the visit as an opportunity to publicly address what it described as the ongoing genocide of Uyghurs and to hold China accountable for alleged large-scale human rights violations.

The organisation noted that the United States has historically played a leading role in supporting the Uyghur cause and drawing international attention to China's treatment of Uyghurs in East Turkistan and elsewhere. It highlighted that in January 2021, the US Secretary of State officially determined that China's actions against Uyghurs constituted genocide.

The WUC also referred to the introduction of the Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act in 2025 by Republican Congressman Christopher Smith. According to the organisation, the proposed legislation builds on the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 and seeks to expand sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act against individuals allegedly responsible for abuses against Uyghurs.

The organisation further pointed to the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA), enacted by the United States in 2021, describing it as one of the most comprehensive measures aimed at restricting imports connected to forced labour in supply chains linked to East Turkistan.

'Statements of condemnation lose their meaning if they are not followed by concrete action,' WUC President Turgunjan Alawdun said in the statement. 'The United States has long been a strong and vocal ally of the Uyghur people, and we call on President Donald Trump to uphold that tradition and continue advancing the protection of Uyghur rights,' he added.

While acknowledging the efforts made by the United States in publicly raising concerns about the Uyghur issue at both national and international levels, the WUC said more action was needed. The organisation alleged that millions of Uyghurs remain detained in camps and prisons, while Uyghur women have allegedly been subjected to forced sterilisation in an attempt to reduce the Uyghur population.

The WUC further claimed that labour transfer programmes have expanded in recent years, forcibly displacing Uyghur workers and coercing them into labour. It also alleged that the Uyghur language has been banned in many schools and prefectures, religious expression has been criminalised, and Uyghur mosques, shrines, cemeteries, and homes have been destroyed.

According to the press release, the Chinese government has also allegedly separated children from their families and pursued policies aimed at eradicating Uyghur identity and forcibly assimilating the Uyghur population. The WUC additionally accused Beijing of carrying out transnational repression by intimidating and threatening Uyghur activists and diaspora communities abroad.

The organisation said such allegations required a coordinated and strong response from both the United States and the international community, particularly as this year marks a decade since what it described as the beginning of the repressive campaign against Uyghurs.

The WUC urged President Trump to meaningfully raise the Uyghur issue in meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Chinese officials during the visit. It added that the United States was in a unique position to press China on human rights issues due to bipartisan political support within the country on the matter.

In its appeal, the WUC called on the United States and President Trump to raise the issue of the Uyghur genocide and other human rights concerns during all future bilateral engagements with China. It also urged Washington to press Beijing to end what it described as systematic repression in East Turkistan and to fully implement international labour rights conventions, including International Labour Organisation conventions on forced labour.

The organisation further appealed to the U.S. government to push China to end alleged policies of transnational repression affecting Uyghur, Tibetan, Hong Kong, and Chinese diaspora communities living in the United States.

Additionally, the WUC called for efforts to secure family reunifications for Uyghur-Americans with relatives who are allegedly missing or disappeared, including the families of Rahila Dawut, Ilham Tohti, Gulshan Abbas, and Yalqun Rozi. (ANI)