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Introducing the World Uyghur Congress

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is an international organisation that represents the collective interest of the Uyghur people both in East Turkestan and abroad.

The WUC was established on 16 April 2004 in Munich, Germany, after the East Turkestan National Congress and the World Uyghur Youth Congress merged into one united organisation. The main objective of WUC is to promote the right of the Uyghur people to use peaceful, nonviolent, and democratic means to determine the political future of East Turkestan.

The WUC is a democratic organisation. All of WUC leadership was democratically elected by the participants from all over the world in the General Assembly. They all serve a three-year term. WUC has close contacts and working relations with most Uyghur organisations in the world that peacefully promote human rights, religious freedom, and democracy for the Uyghur people in East Turkestan.

The WUC engages in a wide-range of awareness raising and advocacy campaigns about the human rights situation for Uyghurs in the PRC, concentrating on United States Congress in Washington, EU member states, and EU and UN human rights mechanisms. We continue to work closely with the EU Commission (especially the EEAS), the EU Parliament (including the EU Sub-committee on Human Rights), NGOs, the UN Treaty Bodies, to which we regularly submit alternative reports (CERD, CAT, CEDAW) and UN Special Procedures (the Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups).

The WUC also participates actively with the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) throughout the year and submits written statements and reports, delivers oral statements to plenary sessions, and organizes side events that focus on Chinese human rights abuses. The UN Forum on Minority Issues has also presented us with ample opportunity to raise the Uyghur issue in the context of other groups facing comparable    discriminatory treatment around the world.

On the First General Assembly of WUC in 2004 Mr. Erkin Alptekin was elected as president. He had lead WUC to its second General Assembly in 2006. Mr. Alptekin is a former general secretary of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) based in The Hague, the Netherlands. He has remarkable experience in working with international organisations and governments in lobbying for the Uyghur people’s right to self-determination. He is also a close friend of the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of the Tibetan people.

The Second General Assembly of the WUC, which took place in Munich from 24 – 27 November 2006, all delegates elected Ms. Rebiya Kadeer as the president of WUC.

The Third General Assembly of the WUC was convened in Washington, DC from 21 – 25 May 2009. Delegates and observers from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Sweden, Turkey and the United States attended the Assembly.

The Fourth General Assembly of the WUC was convened in Tokyo, Japan from 14 – 18 May 2012. Delegates and observers from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Sweden, Turkey and the United States attended the Assembly. Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, the leader of the international Uyghur human rights and democracy movement, was re-elected unanimously as the president of the WUC.

The 5th General Assembly of the WUC was convened in Paris, France from 11 – 13 July 2016. The Assembly brought together over 140 WUC delegates from 18 countries to elect new representation, amend the Charter of the organization and to discuss a forward-looking strategic advocacy plan over the next four years.

The 6th General Assembly of the WUC was convened in Munich, Germany from 10 – 12 November 2017. The Assembly included over 100 delegates from 18 countries who approve additions to the Constitution, as well as a new leadership group that will work over the next four years.