Uyghur Policy Act of 2025

What it does

This bill addresses human rights issues concerning the Uyghurs and other minority groups residing primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in China.

The bill directs the Department of State to prioritize policies and programs to support the Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the XUAR and to lead coordination efforts for the release of certain political prisoners in the XUAR.

The State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs may make certain funds available to human rights advocates working on behalf of Uyghurs and members of other persecuted minority groups from the XUAR. The funds shall be used to facilitate the presence of such human rights advocates at public diplomacy forums to speak on issues related to the human rights and religious freedoms of persecuted minority groups in China.

The State Department must ensure that Uyghur language training is available to Foreign Service officers. It must also ensure that a Uyghur-speaking member of the Foreign Service is assigned to U.S. diplomatic and consular posts in China.

Summary by the Congressional Research Service, Apr 3, 2025 (Introduced in House). CRS summarizes bills impartially; it does not take positions.