About the event: Since April 2017, millions of Uyghurs have been rounded up by Chinese authorities and sent to large modern-day concentration camps. Uyghurs have been persecuted under the label of “Nationalists”, “Counter revolutionaries” and “Separatists.” Following the 9-11 tragedy, Communist authorities rebranded the effort as a “War on Terrorism.” Join the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston at our first Sugarland event for a conversation with Rushan Abbas, Executive Director of the Campaign for Uyghurs. Ms. Abbas will give her personal account as a Uyghur-American with family in the detention camps as well as give more context on the appalling events occurring in the region and how we as a community can be more proactive and conscious.

About the speaker: Rushan Abbas

Ms. Rushan Abbas is the founder and executive director of Campaign for Uyghurs. She has been an activist since her days at university in East Turkistan, where she was a co-leaders of the pro-democracy protests. Since coming to the United States, she has been a tireless advocate for Uyghur rights. In 2017, she established the Campaign for Uyghurs. CFU was founded to advocate for the human rights and democratic freedoms of Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples oppressed by the Chinese regime. In 2018, her own sister was abducted by the Chinese regime and illegally sentenced to prison in retaliation for Ms. Abbas’s activism. Today, Ms. Abbas continues to advocate for her release and the freedom of millions of other Uyghurs, and often speaks for universities and think tanks. She frequently briefs and advises on policy and legislative response, including support for the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, last year’s Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, and greater transparency for the Sister Cities program with links to China. She works frequently with the State Department to engage with international civic society, and meets with international government leaders. Ms. Abbas resides in Virginia.