Uyghur Advocates Thank Mike Pompeo for Landmark Uyghur Genocide Recognition

Uyghur Leaders Thank Mike Pompeo for Historic Uyghur Genocide Designation

By Uyghur Times Staff
May 8, 2025 | Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. – On May 8, 2025, leaders from the Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) and the Uyghur Academy International held a significant meeting with former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to express profound thanks for his courageous decision to designate China’s systematic repression of Uyghurs as genocide and crimes against humanity on January 19, 2021—exactly five years prior to today.

The delegation, led by CFU Executive Director Rushan Abbas—a prominent Uyghur-American activist whose sister remains detained in East Turkistan—along with Uyghur Academy President Dr. Rishat Abbas, and CFU members Sabrina Sohail and Jacob Roupe, conveyed deep appreciation on behalf of the global Uyghur community. They praised Pompeo’s principled stand and unwavering commitment to justice, which provided hope and international validation amid China’s ongoing campaign of erasure.

During the encounter, Rushan Abbas presented Pompeo with a signed copy of her 2025 memoir, Unbroken: One Uyghur’s Fight for Freedom, which details her personal journey of advocacy, the abduction of her sister Dr. Gulshan Abbas in retaliation for her activism, and the broader multi-generational struggle of Uyghurs against CCP oppression.

Rushan Abbas said on X: “It was a true honor to thank Secretary Pompeo @mikepompeo for his recognition of the genocide for the first time in 2021 and gave voice to the truth and hope to millions. I am grateful to share my book, Unbroken, as a testament to that truth.”

Credible reports from the United Nations, human rights organizations, survivor testimonies, satellite imagery, and leaked Chinese government documents detail mass internment of over one million people, forced labor, sterilization, torture, cultural destruction, and religious suppression—actions aimed at erasing Uyghur identity.

Pompeo’s January 19, 2021, determination marked a turning point: the United States became the first major power to officially label these atrocities as genocide, a finding later reaffirmed by the Biden administration and supported by parliamentary resolutions in Canada, the UK, and the Netherlands.

In his official statement, Pompeo described the PRC’s actions—under CCP direction—as an “ongoing” systematic effort to destroy Uyghurs through arbitrary detention, forced assimilation, birth prevention, and erasure of cultural and religious practices since at least March 2017. The designation amplified global awareness, spurred sanctions on Chinese officials, and supported key U.S. legislation like the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

The May 2025 meeting with Pompeo underscored the lasting impact of that decision. As Rushan Abbas has shared publicly, the recognition brought hope to a community facing continued repression, family separations, and transnational harassment. The delegation emphasized how Pompeo’s leadership set a precedent for accountability and inspired sustained advocacy.

This gratitude reflects bipartisan U.S. commitment to confronting CCP human rights abuses. The genocide designation has fueled international pressure, including calls for stronger sanctions and supply chain reforms, while empowering diaspora voices like Abbas’s to demand justice.