Ami Bera

I want to thank Chairman Meeks for his leadership in bringing us together today; Ranking Member McCaul for his partnership with us on this issue and in the defense of human rights around the world.

So, one of our best strategies in the cold war was Radio Free Europe, and the beauty of it was we did not have to--we were just telling the truth and making sure people had access to the truth.

How do we engage the Muslim majority countries in this fight?

For centuries, the United States has had a proud of history of welcoming oppressed peoples from around the world, and we are right to focus on actions within China.

The legislation demonstrates congressional interest in assisting the Uyghur people and signals support for the Biden Administration's efforts to aid Uyghurs and others persecuted by the PRC.

That is why I introduced the Uyghur Human Rights Protection Act in March, to provide priority to P-2 refugee status to Uyghurs and other minority groups facing persecution by the PRC government.

The sanctions, currently there have been 74 punitive sanctions that have been announced.

We will not sit back and allow it to continue without the United States working with other international countries.

It is harmful to the human race for this still to be taking place in 2021.

I also hope you will ensure that American Olympic athletes are not forced to compete in the shadow of the concentration camps at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

The United States should also urge every signatory of the Genocide Convention to fulfill their obligations under Article 1, the obligation to prevent genocide.

The true nature of these Faustian deals need to come to light so consumers can begin to know where their money is going.

We cannot let atrocities like what is happening to the Uyghur population occur in a vacuum.

This humanitarian crisis is about more than just U.S. foreign policy toward the People's Republic of China.

Our response to the Uyghur genocide should be an example of our character, rather than a stain on our history.

Genocide is a term that we reserve for history's most serious crimes against humanity.

We called upon the Biden Administration to get the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations to urge the body to investigate the ongoing human rights violations.

Are there any specific steps that, you know, we ought to be thinking about as Congress to, again, support, you know, both the people?

It does not seem like that resolve is shifting. If nothing else, it seems like the Burmese people are digging in.

I've heard up to 90 percent of the country is currently shut down with, you know, essentially, a general strike.

I do want to comment, however, that I, too, have great concern over the Rohingya and the situation that they face.

We need an American strategy to the region.

By not ratifying that agreement, we are in a weaker position to hold the Chinese to these rules.

What we want to do is compete based on a rule of law.

It is important for us to be in treaties like UNCLOS and international coalitions--so we can actually be at the table influencing the direction of these groups.