Organization in Focus: Center for Uyghur Studies Advances Global Advocacy and Scholarship in 2025

In 2025, the Center for Uyghur Studies broadened its international work, producing research, publications, and programs that document Uyghur experiences and foster global understanding.

Editor’s Note: The Uyghur Post, the partner publication of Uyghur Times, is launching annual reports on Uyghur diaspora organizations to document and share the work and achievements of the Uyghur movement abroad. This initiative aims to present each organization’s key activities, promote understanding within the community, reflect on progress made, and preserve these efforts as part of the historical record.

Center for Uyghur Studies Expands Global Advocacy, Research, and Publishing in 2025

In 2025, the Center for Uyghur Studies (CUS) significantly expanded its international advocacy, research, and publishing initiatives, reinforcing its role as a leading institution documenting human rights violations against Uyghur Muslims and advancing global awareness through policy engagement, education, and multilingual scholarship.

Throughout the year, CUS combined field advocacy across many countries with the publication of major research reports and academic works in Uyghur and Arabic.

International Advocacy

CUS began 2025 with strategic engagement meetings with Uyghur activists and NGO leaders in Türkiye. In February, CUS conducted an advocacy visit to Taiwan, engaging with democratic institutions and civil society actors on issues related to human rights and China’s policies toward Taiwan and the Uyghurs. This was followed by a March advocacy trip to London, where CUS worked to reactivate the Stand4Uyghurs campaign and engage United Kingdom–based stakeholders.

A key milestone occurred in April with a successful advocacy trip to Indonesia, where CUS strengthened regional advocacy networks, conducted awareness activities, and engaged academic, religious, and civil society leaders. This initiative reflected CUS’s strategic focus on Muslim-majority countries.

In June, CUS also participated in the International Religious Freedom Summit in Nairobi, contributing to global discussions on religious repression and accountability.

Conferences

In September 2025, CUS organized and participated in major international events linking historical memory to contemporary atrocity prevention. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, CUS led an advocacy delegation and convened “Commemorating 30 Years Since the Srebrenica Genocide and Confronting the Ongoing Uyghur Genocide,” in Sarajevo, drawing comparative lessons between past European genocides and ongoing crimes against Uyghurs. The conference was attended by Bosnian MPs, academics, representatives of foreign embassies, journalists, etc.

That same month, CUS co-organized “Faith Under Siege: Confronting Religious Persecution and Oppression in China” at the U.S. Capitol, in collaboration with the International Republican Institute and several other U.S. based NGOs. This conference brought together policymakers, researchers, and advocates to assess China’s treatment of religious communities.

In December, CUS concluded the year by co-organizing the “Uyghur Genocide Resistance”conference in Washington, D.C., and 20 other Uyghur, U.S. and international organizations, providing a platform for solidarity, policy discussion, and advocacy planning.

Research and Publications

CUS released several major reports in 2025. These included “Breaking the Roots: China’s Use of Boarding Schools as a Tool of Genocide Against Uyghur Muslims,” which examined the role of state-run boarding schools in dismantling Uyghur family structures, language transmission, and religious identity.

In August, CUS published “Exposing China’s Propaganda Campaigns in MENA,” analyzing Beijing’s influence strategies across the Middle East and North Africa. In October, CUS published another report, “China’s Hypocrisy on Religion: Unraveling Contradictions in the PRC’s Religious Policies,” which studied discrepancies between China’s official rhetoric towards the international community and the Muslim world and its repressive policies and practices on religion and faith communities. The reports were published in multiple languages including Arabic, English, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, and Turkish.

Publication of Books in Arabic and Uyghur 

Academic publishing formed an important part of CUS’s work in 2025, with a focus on preserving Uyghur intellectual heritage and expanding access to Uyghur history in multiple languages.

In April 2025, CUS published the Uyghur translation of “Soviet Policy in Xinjiang: Stalin and National Movement in Eastern Turkistan” by Azerbaijani historian Cemil Hasanli. The book is widely regarded as a foundational resource for understanding modern Uyghur history. Its Uyghur translation – published after CUS acquired translation rights from Bloomsbury Publishing – was well received by the Uyghur community. The project forms part of CUS’s broader effort to enrich academic resources available to Uyghur readers and strengthen engagement with the Uyghur community.

In the same month, CUS published two books in Arabic on Uyghur history. The first, “Turkistan and its Position in History,” was based on a manuscript written by a Uyghur scholar in the diaspora in the 1960s. After acquiring the original manuscript, CUS edited and published the work in print. The second book, “Turkistan between Russia and China,” was translated from Turkish into Arabic by Rahmetullah Turkistani, a prominent Uyghur intellectual based in Saudi Arabia. These publications expanded Arabic-language resources on Uyghur history and introduced original Uyghur scholarship to a wider readership.

In December, CUS released “Pivot of Asia – Xinjiang: Inner Asia Bordering Russia and China”by Owen Lattimore. This was followed on December 17, 2025, by “Turkistan between Russia and China: The History of Turkestani Governments and the National Struggle against Russian and Chinese Colonialism (18th–20th Centuries)” by Dr. Bay Mirzaheyit. Both works were translated into Arabic by the prominent Uyghur intellectual Rahmetullah Turkistani. These two publications contribute important additions to the Arabic-language library on Uyghur and Central Asian history, providing authoritative references that have long been unavailable to Arab readers. By publishing these foundational works, CUS seeks to address gaps in Arabic scholarship, support researchers and educators, and strengthen broader understanding of Uyghur history, identity, and historical experience.

Launch of the Uyghur Language Analysis Program “Eynek”

In October 2025, the CUS launched a new Uyghur-language analysis program aimed at educating the Uyghur community on Uyghur history and international developments related to China and the Uyghur cause. The program, titled “Eynek” (Uyghur for “Mirror”), features analysis and interviews with prominent Uyghur activists, journalists, and experts, providing critical reflection on current affairs and historical context. Between October and December 2025, a total of ten episodes were produced and aired, covering a wide range of topics including Xi Jinping’s visit to East Turkistan, Chinese domestic politics, Syria, Chinese NGOs, Uyghur forced labor, Ukraine, Taiwan, and Uyghur history. The program received thousands of views and positive feedback from audiences, reflecting strong community engagement and demand for Uyghur-language analytical content. This initiative forms part of CUS’s mission to empower Uyghurs through accessible education, strengthen political and historical awareness, and encourage informed engagement in Uyghur advocacy.

This article is based on materials provided by the Center for Uyghur Studies. The Uyghur Post editorial team did not contribute to the preparation of this content.

The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the position of the Uyghur Times or Uyghur Post.