Rubio on Sanctions Related to Human Rights Violations in Xinjiang

Statement

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), author of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act (P.L. 116-145) which was recently signed into law by President Donald Trump, released the following statement after the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced it has sanctioned four Chinese individuals, including senior Party Secretary, Chen Quanguo, and one government entity for grave human rights abuses against ethnic Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

"Today's actions by the Administration to impose sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for the horrific abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities Xinjiang are long overdue," Rubio said. "These designations rightly included Chen Quanguo, senior Chinese Communist Party Secretary in Xinjiang, who has been overseeing the gross violations of human rights in the XUAR, as well as previously in Tibet. For far too long, Chinese officials have not been held accountable for committing atrocities that likely constitute crimes against humanity. This is an important step, however, we must continue to use all available tools to stop these crimes and to hold accountable those individuals perpetrating the horrific campaign against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities."

Related:
July 2, 2020: Rubio, Menendez, McGovern, Smith Lead Bipartisan, Bicameral Letter on Chinese Government Atrocities in Xinjiang
April 3, 2019: Rubio, Menendez, Colleagues Urge Strong Sanctions, Export Controls & Financial Disclosures to Counter Chinese Human Rights Abuses in Xinjiang
December 12, 2018: Rubio, McGovern Lead 48 Lawmakers in Urging Trump Administration to Expand Sanctions in Response to China's Mass Internment of Uyghurs
August 29, 2018: Rubio, Colleagues Urge Trump Administration to Sanction Human Rights Violators in China's Xinjiang Region

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