The bipartisan resolution, introduced on Monday by Senators Robert Menendez, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and John Cornyn, would hold China accountable under the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and set in motion the process to coordinate an international response to end abuses in the region. The two lawmakers were joined by Senators James Risch, Marco Rubio, Ben Cardin, and Jeff Merkley.
“There can be no question that the People’s Republic of China is committing genocide against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang,” Menendez said in a press release accompanying the resolution. “Stopping a genocide is consistent with our national security and our values, and it starts by standing up and speaking the truth. I hope that President Trump and Secretary Pompeo will join us in calling this genocide by its name and responding to it with our partners in the international community.”
