Organization in Focus: A Summary of the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP)’s 2025 Achievements

The Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project achieved major milestones in 2025, delivering tangible results in Uyghur resettlement, international advocacy, and legislative action.

Editor’s Note:The Uyghur Post has begun publishing annual reports of organizations in the Uyghur diaspora, aiming to systematically document, archive, and share the achievements of the Uyghur political movement abroad with the public. We hope to use the Uyghur Post as a platform to share the important activities that each organization has carried out over the past year with the broader community. This initiative seeks to strengthen mutual understanding among organizations, inspire hope and motivation in our people through achieved results, and turn the outcomes of the Uyghur cause into lasting historical records.

Let us take a look at the work carried out by the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP) in 2025.

2025 was an exceptionally productive and successful year for URAP. The organization’s long-standing political and diplomatic efforts achieved significant results:

1. Resettlement and the M-62 Program
   Launched in January 2024, the “10,000 Uyghurs to Canada” program (M-62) began to bear fruit in 2025. From April 2025, the first groups of Uyghurs arrived in Canada. Notably, as a result of URAP’s consistent dialogue with the Canadian government, three Uyghurs who had been imprisoned in Thailand for many years were safely resettled in Canada, avoiding the risk of forced return to China.
2. Family Reunification and the Rescue of Idris Hasan
   Following the relocation of Idris Hasan, who had been detained in Marrakech for over three years, URAP’s special efforts with the Canadian government enabled Hasan to reunite with his family and children in Canada and live safely and peacefully.
3. International Political Influence and the G7 Agenda
   Through URAP’s strong advocacy, the Canadian government leveraged its G7 presidency to place China’s “border crackdown” abuses on the G7 leaders’ agenda. This led to a strong joint statement signed by all G7 leaders.
4. Official Recognition and Agreements
   From May 1, 2025, URAP was officially recognized as a partner organization by Canada’s Ministry of Immigration under the M-62 program, giving it formal authority to facilitate the resettlement of 10,000 Uyghurs, and an official agreement was signed.
5. Security Measures and Response to Chinese Sanctions
   After the Chinese government sanctioned 12 URAP staff members, including Executive Director Memet Tohti, in November 2024, Canadian security agencies implemented special measures to protect the organization and its leaders both in Canada and internationally.
6. Legislation and Sanctions
   • Forced Labor: In October 2025, the “Uyghur Forced Labor Limitation Act” was introduced to the Canadian Parliament.
   • Technical Restrictions: Based on legal evidence prepared by URAP, the Canadian government sanctioned the Chinese tech company Hikvision and ordered its exit from Canada.
7. Parliamentary Reception
   On November 19, 2025, a reception was held in the Canadian Parliament to welcome newly arrived Uyghurs. Over 200 high-ranking officials attended, including 45 parliamentarians from five political parties, five ministers, and ambassadors from the U.S. and Taiwan.
8. Honors and Awards
   URAP Executive Director Memet Tohti received the King Charles III Coronation Medal from the British monarchy, making an important contribution to international recognition of the Uyghur cause.

The Uyghur Post Editorial Board organized this report.
Prepared for publication by: Tahir Imin based on the document provided by Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP).

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