Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Alaska’s U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan today teamed up to introduce new bipartisan legislation that elevates and affirms the human rights of Southern Mongolians in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Southern Mongolian Human Rights Policy Act would make it U.S. policy to advocate for preserving the culture and language of the ethnic Mongolians inside China whose rights are being undermined by the Chinese government.
“As Beijing continues to repress the rights and cultures of ethnic minorities, America must be unwavering in its support of those fighting for their fundamental freedoms,” Merkley said. “The Southern Mongolian Human Rights Policy Act sends an unequivocal message: the United States will not stand for the Chinese government’s efforts to erase Mongolian language, culture, and identity. Our bill makes clear that the status quo for human rights—in Southern Mongolia and across China—is unacceptable.”
“The Chinese Communist Party not only has nefarious designs on America’s global interests and our critical industries, it has also worked to undermine internationally recognized human rights across the globe, including in Southern Mongolia,” Sullivan said. “The plight of the Southern Mongolian people, who were promised autonomy, is similar to the plight of other ethnic and religious minorities in China who are forced into “reeducation” camps, denied religious rights and the right to speak in their own language, forcibly removed from their homes, and forced to engage in slave labor. In Congress, we have appropriately focused on the mistreatment of other ethnic groups in China, including the Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Christians. I’m pleased to join Senator Merkley in turning the Senate’s attention to the appalling treatment of the people of Southern Mongolia. They have been overlooked for too long.”
U.S. Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA-02)—a Commissioner of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee—is leading the House version of the legislation.
“The Southern Mongolian Human Rights Policy Act reaffirms America’s commitment to fundamental values of human rights and dignity. It signals that the United States stands with the Southern Mongolian people in their fight to preserve their cultural and linguistic heritage, and it sends a clear message that human rights must be respected everywhere,” McGovern said. “I am grateful for the partnership of Senator Jeff Merkley in bringing this legislation forward to make clear that America supports the aspirations of Southern Mongolians and opposes the oppressive policies being implemented by the People’s Republic of China.”
As Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Merkley has worked to shine a light on human rights struggles in the People’s Republic of China, which oppresses Uyghurs, Hong Kongers, Tibetans, dissidents, and others. In April 2022, Merkley chaired a hearing titled, ‘Growing Constraints on Language and Ethnic Identity in Today’s China’ which featured the struggles of Southern Mongolians. Earlier this year, his bipartisan Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act was signed into law to support Tibetan self-determination and promote dialogue between the Chinese authorities and the Dalai Lama toward a peaceful resolution of the long-standing dispute between Tibet and China.
“The Southern Mongolian Human Rights Policy Act is a historic milestone of the United States’ strong commitment to the protection and promotion of rights of the six million Southern Mongolians whose basic human rights and fundamental freedoms have continually been denied by the government of China over the past seven decades,” said Enghebatu Togochog (Batu) of the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center. “Introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon and Senator Dan Sullivan from Alaska, this bipartisan bill highlights the urgency of immediate actions that the United States government as well as the United Nations human rights bodies must take to prevent China from continuing to perpetrate all forms of human rights violations, in particular the ongoing cultural genocide that is aiming at the total erasure of Mongolian language, culture and identity in Southern Mongolia.”
The full text of the bill can be found by clicking here.
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