Floor Speech in Support of Uighur Intervention and Global Humanitarian Unified Response Act

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks on the Floor of the House of Representatives in support of S. 178, the Uighur Intervention and Global Humanitarian Unified Response (UIGHUR) Act of 2019, which passed on a 406 – 1 vote. Below are the Speaker's remarks:

Speaker Pelosi. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership, and to you and to Mr. Smith, to gentleman from New Jersey, for being champions for human rights. Mr. McCaul and Mr. Eliot Engel, also I thank them – the Chair and Ranking – Mr. Eliot Engel, the Chair, and Mr. McCaul, the Ranking Member of the Committee, and you, Mr. Speaker, a champion for human rights even before you came to Congress.

My colleagues, next week marks 71 years since the nations of the world gathered in Paris to enshrine our global commitment to human rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The opening words of that declaration read, ‘Recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. Whereas disregarding contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts, which outraged the conscience of mankind.'

Today the human dignity and human rights of the Uighur community are under threat from Beijing – Beijing's barbarous actions, which are an outrage to the collective conscience of the world.

Across the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, the Uighur people and other Muslim minorities face brutal repression: a pervasive state of mass surveillance, including the arbitrary and nonconsensual collection of children's DNA; the mass incarceration of one to three million innocent people with beatings, solitary confinement, deprivation of food and medical treatment; forced sterilizations and other forms of tortures; incidents of mass shootings and extrajudicial killings and the intimidation and suppression of journalists courageously exposing the truth.

Mihrigul Tursun, a former detainee testified she faced treatment so brutal ‘I would rather die then go through the torture and begged them to kill me.' Another former detainee, Tursunay Ziyawudun, testified, ‘We're all helpless and unable to defend ourselves. We all went through all kinds of mistreatment – the screaming, pleading, crying is still in my head.'

Today, with this bicameral, overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation, the United States Congress is taking a critical step to counter Beijing's horrific human rights abuses against the Uighurs.

Thank you to Chairman Engel, thank you to Chairman Brad Sherman, Rep. Suozzi and Chairman McGovern for their leadership in this important legislation.

We are sending a message to Beijing: America is watching and we will not stand silent.

This legislation helps uncover the truth: requiring reports by the DNI – Director of National Intelligence – the State Department, the F.B.I. about the depth of the crisis and about China's campaign about journalists exposing the facts.

It creates accountability and ensures transparency of Chinese and foreign companies involved in the camps.

And, it engages the full firepower of American law and leadership, including encouraging the application of Global Magnitsky and other related sanctions, and the full implementation of the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, named for our former distinguished colleague and human rights champion, Congressman Frank Wolf.

Sadly, Beijing's human rights abuses extend beyond the Uighurs. From the decades-long abuse faced by the Tibetan people, to Hong Kong's fight for democracy and rule of law and to the jailing of journalists, human rights lawyers, Christians and democracy advocates on the homeland.

In the Congress, Democrats and Republicans stand united with all people fighting for the human rights in the face of China's abuses and, last month, we were proud to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which has now become law and we are grateful that the President has signed that legislation.

If America does not speak out for human rights in China because of commercial issues, we lose all moral authority to speak out for human rights any place in the world.

In honor of the millions fighting for their dignity, safety and rights in China and around the world, I urge a strong bipartisan vote for the Uighur Intervention and Global Humanitarian Unified Response Act of 2019 and thank Mr. Smith, Mr. Sires, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Suozzi, the Chair – Mr. Eliot Engel – and Mr. McCaul for their leadership, and I acknowledge the leadership of Senator Rubio in the United States Senate on this important legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time, as I urge an aye vote.

Thank you.