The Uyghur Human Rights Project (Chinese: 维吾尔人权项目, Uyghur: ئۇيغۇر كىشىلىك ھوقۇق قۇرۇلۇشى; abbreviated UHRP) is a research-based advocacy organization located in Washington, D.C. that promotes human rights for Uyghurs. According to the UHRP, its main goal is "promoting human rights and democracy for Uyghurs and others living in East Turkistan" through research-based advocacy. Due to the unique challenges that China presents in terms of gathering information in an accurate and timely manner, the group believes that organizations that specifically focus on the Uyghur crisis are especially important, in addition to organizations that focus on human rights more broadly.[1] The organization also hosts events, like panels of experts, to discuss the crisis facing the Uyghurs.[2]
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Abbreviation | UHRP |
---|---|
Formation | 2004 |
Type | Non-Profit NGO |
Purpose | Promoting human rights for Uyghurs.[1] |
Headquarters | Washington, D.C., United States |
Region served | International |
Official languages | English, Uyghur, Mandarin Chinese |
Executive Director | Omer Kanat |
Website | www |
History
Uyghur Human Rights Project was founded in 2004 by the Uyghur American Association, and have eight full-time staff.[1] The project was founded with a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy, and became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, tax-exempt organization in 2016.[3][4]
Omer Kanat has been the organization's Executive Director since 2018. He previously served as the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) Vice President from 2006 to 2017, and has also been a WUC Executive Committee Chairman since 2017.[5] Co-founder Nury Turkel also serves as Board Chair,[6] and was appointed by the U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (2019-2022).[7]
The group also joined with fifty other organizations and experts in September 2020 to call on the UN Human Rights Council to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to investigate atrocity crimes against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim peoples.[8]
Reports
The organization publishes reports and analysis in English and Chinese to defend Uyghurs' civil, political, social, cultural, and economic rights according to international human rights standards.[9][10][11]
In July 2020, the UHRP published the report, "'The Happiest Muslims in the World': Disinformation, Propaganda, and the Uyghur Crisis," which analyzes the Chinese Communist Party's counter-narrative in response to escalating international alarm about human rights violations against Uyghurs.[12][13]
UHRP has published reports on the CCP's policies regarding all aspects of Uyghur human rights, including cultural rights, such as "Kashgar Coerced: Forced Reconstruction, Exploitation, and Surveillance in the Cradle of Uyghur Culture,"[14] and "Extracting Cultural Resources: the Exploitation and Criminalization of Uyghur Cultural Heritage."[15]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "About Us". Uyghur Human Rights Project. 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- ^ Acosta, Carmen Molina (July 30, 2020). "'Huge uptick' in Chinese propaganda over Uighur camps, report finds". The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ "Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP)". Devex. 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- ^ "Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act Builds on Work of NED Grantees". National Endowment for Democracy. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- ^ Axelsson, Pelle (September 29, 2020). "Omer Kanat / Uyghur Genocide". IntellectInterviews. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ Schor, Elana (June 5, 2020). "Q&A: Nury Turkel on Uighurs and new religious freedom post". Associated Press. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ Seytoff, Alim; Lipes, Joshua (May 26, 2020). "US House Speaker Appoints Uyghur Attorney Nury Turkel to Panel on Religious Freedom". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ "Activists want UN to probe 'genocide' of China's Uighur minority". Al Jazeera. September 15, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ Paton, Elizabeth; Ramzy, Austin (10 August 2020). "Coalition Brings Pressure to End Forced Uighur Labor". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- ^ Jacobs, Andrew (23 November 2014). "Prosecution of Uighur Students Underscores Perils of Chinese Clampdown". Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- ^ Khan, Aysha (10 July 2020). "Uighurs reflect on 2009 violence that set off Chinese crackdown". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- ^ "New Report from UHRP —"The Happiest Muslims in the World": Disinformation, Propaganda, and the Uyghur Crisis, July 2020". Save Uighur. Justice for All. August 5, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ "Media warned against Chinese 'propaganda' on plight of Uyghurs". LiCAS.news. July 31, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ Lipes, Joshua (June 5, 2020). "Kashgar's Old City Destruction Emblematic of Beijing's Cultural Campaign Against Uyghurs: Report". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ Millward, James; Peterson, Dahlia (September 2020). "China's System of Oppression in Xinjang: How It Developed and How to Curb It" (PDF). The Brookings Institution. Retrieved March 29, 2021.