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The World Uyghur Congress (WUC), in its weekly brief, highlighted a series of developments concerning Uyghur women, diaspora advocacy, human rights and alleged surveillance and travel restrictions affecting Uyghurs and other communities.
According to the WUC weekly brief, the WUC Womens Committee held its second International Womens Meeting in Istanbul, Turkiye, on September 1213, bringing together more than 50 women, activists and young participants from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and other countries. The two-day meeting focused on the role of Uyghur women in the Uyghur cause and diaspora community, efforts to preserve the Uyghur language and identity among younger generations, mental health, security concerns and challenges faced by Uyghur women and youth living in exile. As cited by the WUC weekly brief, participants also discussed ways to strengthen women's participation and address challenges within the diaspora community. The gathering included a Most Beautiful Atlas Dress evening showcasing traditional Uyghur clothing and concluded with discussions on future priorities and urgent issues, followed by the adoption of the Istanbul Declaration of Uyghur Women. The WUC weekly brief also highlighted an advocacy visit by a joint WUC and UZDM Uyghur delegation to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. According to the brief, the delegation included WUC President Turgunjan Alawdun, WUC EU Officer Bernardo Kaiser and UZDM President Dolkun Isa, who held meetings with Members of the European Parliament Hannes Heide, Hannah Neumann, Markta Gregorov, Engin Eroglu and Ilhan Kyuchyuk. The discussions focused on China's Ethnic Unity and Progress Law, its reported consequences for Uyghurs, the approaching tenth anniversary of the beginning of the mass internment campaign in East Turkistan, individual cases involving imprisoned Uyghurs and continued support from European lawmakers for Uyghur human rights, according to the WUC brief. The weekly brief further stated that on September 16, the WUC joined human rights organisations in an open letter to Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping ahead of his planned visit to Washington, D.C., on September 24. As mentioned in the WUC brief, the letter called on the Chinese government to release prisoners of conscience, end transnational repression and collective punishment, and reform laws that the signatories said violate international human rights obligations, including the 2026 Ethnic Unity and Progress Law. The letter specifically called for the immediate and unconditional release of imprisoned Uyghurs, including Dr. Gulshan Abbas, Ekpar Asat, Rahile Dawut and Ilham Tohti. It also raised concerns over alleged continuing violations against Uyghurs and other communities and urged members of the Chinese delegation and their associates not to engage in what the signatories described as transnational repression against protesters and activists during Xi's visit. The WUC weekly brief also cited a September 16 report by Bitter Winter concerning findings from Anthropic's latest threat-intelligence report. According to the WUC brief, the Anthropic findings documented alleged misuse of its AI system Claude by China-based actors associated or aligned with Chinese security, propaganda and religious-affairs structures. The operations reportedly targeted dissidents, journalists, religious communities and Uyghurs through activities described as stability maintenance surveillance. The brief said Uyghur diaspora communities and advocacy organisations were among the reported targets. According to the cited findings, more than 100 WhatsApp groups and dozens of Telegram channels were monitored to identify individuals and potential vulnerabilities, including family separation and relatives remaining in East Turkistan. The WUC brief further stated that the findings documented monitoring of Uyghur cultural events in Trkiye and plans to target Uyghur diaspora journalists through coordinated mass reporting, delegitimisation and bot amplification. The weekly brief also cited a September 16 Human Rights Watch report concerning China's new Regulations on Exit-Entry Administration, which took effect on September 15. According to the WUC brief, Human Rights Watch warned that the regulations expand authorities' discretion to prevent Chinese citizens and foreigners from leaving the country. The brief said the decree includes broadly defined national-security grounds, allows exit bans of up to three years in some circumstances and can permit authorities to withhold notification of a ban. As cited by the WUC weekly brief, Human Rights Watch argued that the provisions violate the internationally protected right to leave a country. The brief also highlighted the reported impact of China's travel restrictions on Uyghurs and other repressed communities. It cited HRW's observation that authorities confiscated previously issued passports in East Turkistan in 2016 during the region-wide crackdown, while noting that although some Uyghurs are now permitted to travel abroad, they continue to face severe restrictions. (ANI)
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