Communist Party has manipulated the strategic objectives of the international war on terror to mask their increasing cultural and religious oppression of the predominantly Muslim population residing in the XUAR. (7) Following unrest in the region, in 2014, the Chinese Communist Party launched its Strike Hard against Violent Extremism campaign, in which dubious allegations of widespread extremist activity were used as justification for gross human rights violations committed against members of the Uyghur community. (8) Chinese Communist Party officials have made use of the legal system as a tool of repression, including for the imposition of arbitrary detentions and for torture against members of the Uyghur and other populations. (9) Uyghurs and Kazakhs who have secured citizenship or permanent residency outside of the PRC have attested to repeated threats, harassment, and surveillance by PRC officials. (10) Reporting from international news organizations has found that over the past decade, family members of Uyghurs living outside of the PRC who remain in the PRC have gone missing or have been detained to force Uyghur expatriates to return to the PRC or silence their dissent. (11) Credible evidence from human rights organizations, think tanks, and journalists confirms that more than 1,000,000 Uyghurs and members of other ethnic groups have been imprisoned in extrajudicial political reeducation centers. (12) Independent accounts from former detainees of political reeducation centers describe inhumane conditions and treatment, including forced political indoctrination, torture, beatings, rape, forced sterilization, and food deprivation. Former detainees also confirmed that they were told by guards that the only way to secure release was to demonstrate sufficient political loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. (13) Popular discourse surrounding the ongoing atrocities in the XUAR and advocacy efforts to assist Uyghurs remains muted in most Muslim majority nations around the world. (14) Both Secretary of State