WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), James Lankford (R-OK), and Mike Crapo (R-ID) requested a detail report from U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on the U.S. Treasury Department’s enforcement of forced labor sanctions against those responsible for the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity faced by the Uyghur people in Communist China.
“Uyghur Muslims are facing ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is currently holding at least 1.8 million Uyghurs in political prison camps, subjecting Uyghur women and girls to forced abortions and forced sterilizations, and forcing Uyghurs to labor at an astounding scale. The CCP operates the world’s largest state-run forced labor program, enslaving more than 3 million Uyghurs today,” wrote the senators.
“Given the gravity and scope of the forced labor challenge, Congress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in December 2021. Nearly two years have passed since the UFLPA was implemented. As a member of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), the U.S. Department of Treasury is a key implementing partner in ensuring the enforcement and effectiveness of U.S. efforts to ensure that not a single good produced with Uyghur forced labor makes its way into U.S. markets. To that end, Congress granted Treasury significant sanctions authorities under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act (UHRPA), whose authorities were amended and expanded by the UFLPA to include the ability to sanction individuals involved in ‘serious human rights abuses in connection with forced labor’,” continued the senators.
They also asked why the Treasury Department has failed to issue new sanctions against the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a paramilitary organization with a 50 percent or more stake in more than 2,800 companies in China.
“The Biden administration has no lack of tools to hold the CCP to account, and yet it has struggled to make full use of these authorities. UHRPA sanctions authorities, for example, have only been used to designate two individuals for their role in violating Uyghur rights – neither for their role in perpetrating forced labor. The Biden administration has even struggled to enforce sanctions already on the books, in particular, sanctions against the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a paramilitary organization with a 50 percent or more stake in more than 2,800 companies in China. Not only should XPCC be sanctioned to the fullest extent of the law, but Treasury should also sanction its subsidiaries,” wrote the senators.
Read the full letter here or below:
Dear Secretary Yellen,
Uyghur Muslims are facing ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is currently holding at least 1.8 million Uyghurs in political prison camps, subjecting Uyghur women and girls to forced abortions and forced sterilizations, and forcing Uyghurs to labor at an astounding scale. The CCP operates the world’s largest state-run forced labor program, enslaving more than 3 million Uyghurs today.
Given the gravity and scope of the forced labor challenge, Congress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in December 2021. Nearly two years have passed since the UFLPA was implemented. As a member of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), the U.S. Department of Treasury is a key implementing partner in ensuring the enforcement and effectiveness of U.S. efforts to ensure that not a single good produced with Uyghur forced labor makes its way into U.S. markets.
To that end, Congress granted Treasury significant sanctions authorities under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act (UHRPA), whose authorities were amended and expanded by the UFLPA to include the ability to sanction individuals involved in “serious human rights abuses in connection with forced labor.” Congress also granted Treasury the authority to sanction both entities and individuals for perpetrating corruption and human rights violations under the Global Magnitsky Act.
The Biden administration has no lack of tools to hold the CCP to account, and yet it has struggled to make full use of these authorities. UHRPA sanctions authorities, for example, have only been used to designate two individuals for their role in violating Uyghur rights – neither for their role in perpetrating forced labor. The Biden administration has even struggled to enforce sanctions already on the books, in particular, sanctions against the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a paramilitary organization with a 50 percent or more stake in more than 2,800 companies in China. Not only should XPCC be sanctioned to the fullest extent of the law, but Treasury should also sanction its subsidiaries.
In a March hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, you reiterated your commitment to combatting Uyghur forced labor to the fullest extent of your capacity as Secretary of the Treasury. You specifically stated: “I absolutely agree with you that Treasury and the Biden administration should be sanctioning human rights violations that are occurring in Xinjiang, and there is no appeasement I want to assure you on this matter.”
Given your commitment to full enforcement, we request a detailed report on the measures Treasury is undertaking to fully enforce and expand sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity faced by the Uyghur people. By June 21, 2024, please respond to this request, including specific answers to the following:
1. A complete list of UHRPA sanctions currently in effect, noting any such actions taken directly by the Biden administration.
2. A complete list of Global Magnitsky sanctions currently in effect against Chinese individuals and entities, noting any actions taken directly by the Biden administration.
3. A detailed explanation of Treasury’s activities to enforce these sanctions.
4. An explanation for Treasury’s failure to issue new sanctions against XPCC subsidiaries and an agency action plan to do so in 2024.
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