Press Release – For immediate release 
13 April 2016 
Contact:  World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
0049 (0) 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is pleased to announce that it’s 5^th General Assembly will be taking place in Paris, France, from 11-13 July 2016. The WUC will be expecting around 120 elected Uyghur delegates from 20 countries to attend the event, as well as other activists, interested members of civil society and political figures, who are to be invited to the Opening Ceremony, which will be open to the public.

The meeting will prove to be the most important since the founding of the organization back in 2004 with the merger of the East Turkestan National Congress and the World Uyghur Youth Congress. Past General Assemblies have been held in Munich in April 2004, Munich again in November 2006, Washington DC in May 2009, and Tokyo in May 2012.

A Preparation Committee, including members from both from the international headquarters in Munich and from affiliate organizations around the world, will be formed to prepare for the meeting. The Committee will develop draft amendments to the WUC Charter which will then be submitted to the General Assembly for approval. The Committee will also determine the number and eligibility of the delegates that will be able to attend the Assembly.

During the 5^th General Assembly, new WUC leadership will be elected by the delegates and the WUC’s activity and its financial reports will be discussed. The General Assembly will also finalise and approve of a new Charter for the organization and will involve a shift within leadership ranks to ensure that younger members of the Uyghur diaspora community are involved in advocacy activities. The meeting will also look to develop a strategy to attract more engagement from Uyghur intellectuals abroad, and to develop the working strategy of the organization in the upcoming years in order to more effectively raise the Uyghur issue in international fora.