Network for Uyghur Rights

We document human rights abuses to hold perpetrators accountable so Uyghurs can live free and equal in dignity and rights.

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

"For decades, governments have stood by as Beijing hunted Uyghurs and exported repression around the world," said @SophieDRich, Co-Executive Director, Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders.

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

🇹🇭 Thailand is preparing to return two Uyghur men to China despite warnings from governments, the UN, and its own rights commission.

With @CHRDnet, we call on Thailand to halt deportation, give lawyers access, and resettle them in a safe third country.

https://t.co/pSqw9Gd1cr

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

"It is a virtual guarantee that any Uyghur returned to China against their will faces harsh and immediate persecution—Thailand knows this and so does the rest of the international community," said our Co-Executive Director @ShamsedenZ.

[ChinaFile @ChinaFile]

"Looking away from the Uyghur crisis…carries a cost for everyone" argue Zubayra Shamseden and Peter Irwin:

https://t.co/dXrUoWFFPF

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

Thailand has pardoned two Uyghurs held since 2014 and moved them to Bangkok’s Immigration Detention Centre to await deportation.

NUR is calling on Thailand to protect the remaining Uyghurs in detention and facilitate transit to a safe third country.

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

Elsewhere, communities in sacrifice zones could push back. In the Uyghur region, that possibility has been foreclosed, and the costs already paid by Uyghurs will increasingly fall on the rest of the world.

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

Governments that once spoke plainly about the Uyghur region now say little.

In a new op-ed for @ChinaFile, our co-executive directors @ShamsedenZ and @PeterIrwin_ explain why looking away carries a cost for everyone.

https://t.co/aWKIYRtFWO

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

🪨 The region holds 40% of China’s coal reserves and most of its planned coal-to-chemicals projects, while also producing about a quarter of the world’s solar-grade polysilicon.

☢️ And Lop Nur, site of 45 nuclear tests, is seeing a major expansion of nuclear infrastructure.

[Zubayra Shamseden @ShamsedenZ]

At @UyghurNetworkHQ, we envision a democratic East Turkistan where individuals enjoy human rights, freedom, and self-determination.

In this note, our board members Ajinur Setiwaldi and Kawsar Yasin set out the commitments behind our work.
https://t.co/JBmyxNgpYf

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

🤝🏼 Sharing expertise + resources
📚 Community ownership of knowledge
🌏 Relationships with communities facing similar threats
⚖️ Transparency, accountability, shared power

Our vision is a movement where knowledge is shared, expertise is cultivated, and leadership is developed.

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

At Network for Uyghur Rights, we envision a democratic East Turkistan where individuals enjoy human rights, freedom, and self-determination.

In this note, our board members Ajinur Setiwaldi and Kawsar Yasin set out the commitments behind our work.

https://t.co/Gc4XOjTG7w

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

We are also calling for the repeal of the 2026 Ethnic Unity Law, and for a public commitment that Uyghurs abroad will no longer be harassed, surveilled, or punished through their families back home.

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

As Xi Jinping visits Washington, DC this week, we at Network for Uyghur Rights joined more than 30 human rights organizations in an open letter demanding real change, not empty diplomacy.

https://t.co/eo0zzpMnnS

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

We are calling for the immediate release of Uyghurs unjustly imprisoned, including Ilham Tohti, Rahile Dawut, Ekpar Asat, and Dr. Gulshan Abbas.

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

We are also calling for the repeal of the 2026 Ethnic Unity and Progress Law, and for a public commitment that Uyghurs abroad will no longer be harassed, surveilled, or punished through their families back home.

[The Jamestown Foundation @JamestownTweets]

On June 3rd, Jamestown President @PLMattis joined Zubayra Shamseden (Co-Executive Director, Network for Uyghur Rights), Li Qiang (Executive Director, @chinalaborwatch), and Dr. Gyal Lo (Tibet Specialist, @tibetaction) at the @NEDemocracy to commemorate the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Moderated by NED Senior Manager for East Asia @williamnee, the panel highlighted how the PRC systematically developed its security apparatus to prevent the Chinese people from ever again so openly expressing and organizing their democratic aspirations.

#TiananmenSquare #PRC #Democracy #NED #JamestownFoundation

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

We are grateful to NED for convening this important conversation, which also included Dr. Gyal Lo, a Tibetan activist and educational sociologist; Li Qiang, Executive Director of China Labor Watch; and Peter Mattis, President of The Jamestown Foundation Foundation.

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

Last week, our Co-ED @ZubayraZubeyre spoke at @NEDemocracy's "Echoes of Tiananmen" event, marking 37 years since the massacre.

As a student in Shanghai in 1989, she took to the streets in solidarity with the democracy movement.

[Edward White @edwardwhitenz]

From dams, roads and factories to hotels and ski fields, Beijing has unleashed a hydra of policies to transform western China as it defies international censure and spends billions turning Tibet and Xinjiang into economic hubs. Our @FT visual story here: https://t.co/cRb4WLAz9K

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

The article also notes the increase in ski resorts, which @PeterIrwin_ reported on in February 2026.

The February report found dozens of western companies with business in the region, some working with local tourism departments.

Full report: https://t.co/Labjk87FDW

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

Network for Uyghur Rights Co-ED @ZubayraZubeyre cited in Part II of a major new @FT investigation.

"Companies, governments, entities, even tourists, should wake up and realise they are complicit."

https://t.co/Y1CBAOZ6c4

[Network for Uyghur Rights @UyghurNetworkHQ]

The article also cites previous research by NUR Co-ED @PeterIrwin_ on the continued surge in international hotel openings in the region.

Read the report: https://t.co/eYjC9DX2fu