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U.S. Department of State Weekly Digest Bulletin Inbox U.S. Department of State <usstatebpa@public.govdelivery.com> 7:52 AM (3 hours ago) to me Public Schedule – January 18, 2021 01/18/2021 You are subscribed to Public Schedule for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Public Schedule – January 18, 2021 01/18/2021 08:27 AM EST Office of the Spokesperson                                      ***THE DAILY PUBLIC SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*** The Department of State is closed in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. SECRETARY MICHAEL R. POMPEO Secretary Pompeo has no public appointments.   Secretary Pompeo’s Call with Australian Prime Minister Morrison 01/18/2021 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Pompeo’s Call with Australian Prime Minister Morrison 01/18/2021 10:40 AM EST Office of the Spokesperson The below is attributable to Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus: Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke yesterday with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. During the call, the Secretary and the Prime Minister affirmed the unbreakable bond that exists between the United States and Australia and committed to continue working together to deepen and broaden the U.S.-Australia Alliance. Secretary Pompeo thanked Prime Minister Morrison for his steadfast support in promoting our shared values of democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and our common strategic interests, even in the face of economic threats from the People’s Republic of China. They noted the increasing importance of the Quad’s collective efforts to advance a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Billingslea to Address the Conference on Disarmament  01/18/2021 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Billingslea to Address the Conference on Disarmament  01/18/2021 06:02 PM EST Office of the Spokesperson Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea, exercising the authorities of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, will deliver the U.S. statement to the opening plenary session of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland, tomorrow, Tuesday, January 19.  The statement will be delivered virtually. Public Schedule – January 19, 2021 01/18/2021 You are subscribed to Public Schedule for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Public Schedule – January 19, 2021 01/18/2021 08:06 PM EST Office of the Spokesperson                           ***THE DAILY PUBLIC SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*** SECRETARY MICHAEL R. POMPEO Secretary Pompeo attends meetings and briefings, at the Department of State. DEPUTY SECRETARY STEPHEN E. BIEGUN Deputy Secretary Biegun attends meetings and briefings, at the Department of State. UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS DAVID HALE Under Secretary Hale attends meetings and briefings, at the Department of State. UNDER SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH, ENERGY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT KEITH KRACH Under Secretary Krach attends meetings and briefings, at the Department of State.           Visa Restrictions on Tanzanians for Undermining the Democratic Process and Human Rights 01/19/2021 You are subscribed to Secretary's Remarks for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Visa Restrictions on Tanzanians for Undermining the Democratic Process and Human Rights 01/19/2021 10:25 AM EST Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State Today, the United States is announcing visa restrictions on Tanzanian officials responsible for or complicit in undermining Tanzania’s October 28, 2020, general elections.  The actions of these officials subverted the electoral process, continuing the downward trajectory of the country’s democracy.  Election observers and civil society noted widespread irregularities as well as human rights abuses and violations before, during, and after the election.  Opposition candidates were routinely disqualified, harassed, and arrested.  Significant and widespread voting irregularities, internet disruptions, intimidation of journalists, and violence by security forces made this election neither free nor fair.  Civil society leaders remain under threat in the post-election period, and opposition leaders have fled the country out of fear for their safety. We urge the Government of Tanzania to reverse course and hold accountable those responsible for the flawed election, violence, and intimidation.  The United States will continue to closely follow developments in Tanzania and will not hesitate to take additional actions against individuals complicit in undermining democracy and violating human rights.  Finally, we emphasize that today’s actions are not directed at the Tanzanian people.  We commend Tanzanians who participated in the election peacefully and in good faith, and we will work together with all those committed to advancing democracy, human rights, and mutual prosperity. Visa Restrictions on Tanzanians for Undermining the Democratic Process and Human Rights 01/19/2021 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Visa Restrictions on Tanzanians for Undermining the Democratic Process and Human Rights 01/19/2021 10:25 AM EST Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State Today, the United States is announcing visa restrictions on Tanzanian officials responsible for or complicit in undermining Tanzania’s October 28, 2020, general elections.  The actions of these officials subverted the electoral process, continuing the downward trajectory of the country’s democracy.  Election observers and civil society noted widespread irregularities as well as human rights abuses and violations before, during, and after the election.  Opposition candidates were routinely disqualified, harassed, and arrested.  Significant and widespread voting irregularities, internet disruptions, intimidation of journalists, and violence by security forces made this election neither free nor fair.  Civil society leaders remain under threat in the post-election period, and opposition leaders have fled the country out of fear for their safety. We urge the Government of Tanzania to reverse course and hold accountable those responsible for the flawed election, violence, and intimidation.  The United States will continue to closely follow developments in Tanzania and will not hesitate to take additional actions against individuals complicit in undermining democracy and violating human rights.  Finally, we emphasize that today’s actions are not directed at the Tanzanian people.  We commend Tanzanians who participated in the election peacefully and in good faith, and we will work together with all those committed to advancing democracy, human rights, and mutual prosperity. United States and Turkey Sign Cultural Property Agreement 01/19/2021 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. United States and Turkey Sign Cultural Property Agreement 01/19/2021 10:42 AM EST Office of the Spokesperson Today, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey David Satterfield and Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Ersoy signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding that protects Turkish cultural property. This agreement is an example of the United States’ enduring work with Turkey to combat cultural property trafficking and to preserve heritage items by allowing the U.S. to establish import restrictions on certain categories of Turkey’s cultural property.  The agreement also gives U.S. law enforcement the ability to repatriate trafficked cultural objects back to Turkey while fostering the interchange of Turkish cultural heritage with U.S. institutions.  In addition, it demonstrates our respect for Turkey’s longstanding religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity. The United States is unwavering in its commitment to protect and preserve cultural heritage around the world and to restrict trafficking in cultural property, which is often used to fund terrorist and criminal networks.  This cultural property agreement with Turkey was negotiated by the State Department under the U.S. law implementing the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.  The United States has cultural property agreements with countries around the world, as well as emergency import restrictions on cultural property from Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. For further information, please contact eca-press@state.gov.  Follow @ECA_AS on Twitter for updates. Secretary Pompeo’s Call with Venezuelan Interim President Guaido 01/19/2021 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Pompeo’s Call with Venezuelan Interim President Guaido 01/19/2021 10:56 AM EST Office of the Spokesperson The below is attributable to Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus:‎ Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke yesterday with Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaido.  Secretary Pompeo and Interim President Guaido discussed their mutual goal of a peaceful democratic transition in Venezuela and the United States’ unwavering support for his leadership and for the liberty and dignity of all Venezuelans.  The Secretary expressed his personal respect and appreciation for Interim President Guaido’s commitment to the cause of freedom and his inspiring leadership to millions of Venezuelans yearning for a brighter future.  Secretary Pompeo reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to the Venezuelan people as they continue to face one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis created by the illegitimate Maduro regime. Sanctions on Russian Entity and a Vessel Engaging in the Construction of Nord Stream 2  01/19/2021 You are subscribed to Secretary's Remarks for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Sanctions on Russian Entity and a Vessel Engaging in the Construction of Nord Stream 2  01/19/2021 11:08 AM EST Today, the United States is imposing sanctions on the Russia-based entity KVT-RUS and identifying the vessel FORTUNA as blocked property.  KVT-RUS is being sanctioned pursuant to Section 232 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for knowingly selling, leasing, or providing to the Russian Federation goods, services, technology, information, or support for the construction of Russian energy export pipelines.  The United States will consider further actions in the near term, under CAATSA, and the Protecting European Energy Security Act (PEESA), as amended. Nord Stream 2, if completed, would give Russia the means to completely bypass Ukraine, depriving Ukraine of vital revenues and opening it up to further Russian aggressive actions, while providing the means to use natural resources as a tool of political pressure and malign influence against western Europe.  Today’s announcement demonstrates that the United States is not afraid to hold accountable those who continue to aid and abet this tool of Russian coercion. The United States will continue to work with our friends and allies to ensure Europe has a reliable, diversified energy supply network that does not undermine collective security. Sanctions on Russian Entity and a Vessel Engaging in the Construction of Nord Stream 2  01/19/2021 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Sanctions on Russian Entity and a Vessel Engaging in the Construction of Nord Stream 2  01/19/2021 11:08 AM EST Today, the United States is imposing sanctions on the Russia-based entity KVT-RUS and identifying the vessel FORTUNA as blocked property.  KVT-RUS is being sanctioned pursuant to Section 232 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for knowingly selling, leasing, or providing to the Russian Federation goods, services, technology, information, or support for the construction of Russian energy export pipelines.  The United States will consider further actions in the near term, under CAATSA, and the Protecting European Energy Security Act (PEESA), as amended. Nord Stream 2, if completed, would give Russia the means to completely bypass Ukraine, depriving Ukraine of vital revenues and opening it up to further Russian aggressive actions, while providing the means to use natural resources as a tool of political pressure and malign influence against western Europe.  Today’s announcement demonstrates that the United States is not afraid to hold accountable those who continue to aid and abet this tool of Russian coercion. The United States will continue to work with our friends and allies to ensure Europe has a reliable, diversified energy supply network that does not undermine collective security. The United States Takes Further Action Against Enablers of Venezuelan Oil Transactions, Including Sanctions Evasion Network 01/19/2021 You are subscribed to Secretary's Remarks for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. The United States Takes Further Action Against Enablers of Venezuelan Oil Transactions, Including Sanctions Evasion Network 01/19/2021 11:29 AM EST Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State The United States has sanctioned three individuals and 11 entities for their ties to a network helping Nicolas Maduro and his illegitimate regime evade U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector.  This action builds on previous sanctions targeting individuals and entities involved in a sanctions-evasion scheme benefitting the illegitimate Maduro regime and Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), which the regime uses as its primary conduit for corruption to exploit and profit from Venezuela’s natural resources.  The principal actors in the evasion network include Alessandro Bazzoni, Francisco Javier D’Agostino Casado, Philipp Paul Vartan Apikian, Elemento Ltd, and Swissoil Trading SA. Additionally, OFAC is designating three companies located in Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela, and identifying as blocked property six vessels that have recently been involved in the lifting and transport of Venezuelan oil.  This action aims to increase pressure on international shipping entities to disengage from the Venezuelan oil sector and further limit the illegitimate Maduro regime’s options for selling oil. Those facilitating Maduro’s attempts to circumvent U.S. sanctions enable him to continue his repressive practices against the Venezuelan people while pillaging Venezuela’s resources to enrich himself and his cronies.  The United States remains committed to promoting accountability for those involved in facilitating illegitimate transactions that benefit Maduro and his corrupt network while contributing to the suffering of the Venezuelan people.  We will continue to use the full weight of U.S. economic and diplomatic power to promote the peaceful transition to a once-again free, prosperous, and stable Venezuela. The United States Takes Further Action Against Enablers of Venezuelan Oil Transactions, Including Sanctions Evasion Network 01/19/2021 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. The United States Takes Further Action Against Enablers of Venezuelan Oil Transactions, Including Sanctions Evasion Network 01/19/2021 11:29 AM EST Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State The United States has sanctioned three individuals and 11 entities for their ties to a network helping Nicolas Maduro and his illegitimate regime evade U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector.  This action builds on previous sanctions targeting individuals and entities involved in a sanctions-evasion scheme benefitting the illegitimate Maduro regime and Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), which the regime uses as its primary conduit for corruption to exploit and profit from Venezuela’s natural resources.  The principal actors in the evasion network include Alessandro Bazzoni, Francisco Javier D’Agostino Casado, Philipp Paul Vartan Apikian, Elemento Ltd, and Swissoil Trading SA. Additionally, OFAC is designating three companies located in Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela, and identifying as blocked property six vessels that have recently been involved in the lifting and transport of Venezuelan oil.  This action aims to increase pressure on international shipping entities to disengage from the Venezuelan oil sector and further limit the illegitimate Maduro regime’s options for selling oil. Those facilitating Maduro’s attempts to circumvent U.S. sanctions enable him to continue his repressive practices against the Venezuelan people while pillaging Venezuela’s resources to enrich himself and his cronies.  The United States remains committed to promoting accountability for those involved in facilitating illegitimate transactions that benefit Maduro and his corrupt network while contributing to the suffering of the Venezuelan people.  We will continue to use the full weight of U.S. economic and diplomatic power to promote the peaceful transition to a once-again free, prosperous, and stable Venezuela. Update on Advancing Women’s Economic Empowerment 01/19/2021 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Update on Advancing Women’s Economic Empowerment 01/19/2021 12:11 PM EST Office of the Spokesperson On January 13, the U.S. Department of State released the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative Annual Report for 2020.  The report outlined how W-GDP, the first-ever whole-of-government approach to women’s economic empowerment, has reached more than 24 million women around the world in its first two years.  These beneficiaries were directly impacted by U.S. Government programs and partnerships. Building on priorities established during a visit to Central Asia earlier this month led by U.S. International Development Finance Corporation CEO Adam Boehler and Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues Kelley Currie, W-GDP is also building business women’s networks at the national and regional level with the goal of increasing economic opportunities for women in the formal economy, including in Central Asia.  Additionally, the Department of State is seeking to increase technical assistance opportunities through a new W-GDP Legal Reform Fund to update legal and regulatory codes to advance women’s economic empowerment. Launched in February 2019, the White House-led W-GDP Initiative advances its work through three pillars:  Women Prospering in the Workforce, Women Succeeding as Entrepreneurs, and Women Enabled in the Economy.  The W-GDP Initiative Annual Report for 2020 and more can be found at: www.wgdp.gov. Determination of the Secretary of State on Atrocities in Xinjiang 01/19/2021 You are subscribed to Secretary's Remarks for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Determination of the Secretary of State on Atrocities in Xinjiang 01/19/2021 12:27 PM EST Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State The United States of America has led the world in holding the perpetrators of the most heinous human rights abuses accountable. From the Nuremberg Trials, to the creation of the Genocide Convention in 1948, to the declaration of ISIS’s recent genocide against the Yazidis, Christians, and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, Americans have given voice to those who have been silenced by evil, and stood with the living who cry out for truth, the rule of law, and justice. We do so not because we are compelled to act by any international court, multilateral body, or domestic political concern. We do so because it is right. For the past four years, this Administration has exposed the nature of the Chinese Communist Party and called it what it is: a Marxist-Leninist regime that exerts power over the long-suffering Chinese people through brainwashing and brute force. We have paid particular attention to the CCP’s treatment of the Uyghur people, a Muslim minority group that resides largely in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Western China. While the CCP has always exhibited a profound hostility to all people of faith, we have watched with growing alarm the Party’s increasingly repressive treatment of the Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups. Our exhaustive documentation of the PRC’s actions in Xinjiang confirms that since at least March 2017, local authorities dramatically escalated their decades-long campaign of repression against Uyghur Muslims and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups, including ethnic Kazakhs and ethnic Kyrgyz. Their morally repugnant, wholesale policies, practices, and abuses are designed systematically to discriminate against and surveil ethnic Uyghurs as a unique demographic and ethnic group, restrict their freedom to travel, emigrate, and attend schools, and deny other basic human rights of assembly, speech, and worship. PRC authorities have conducted forced sterilizations and abortions on Uyghur women, coerced them to marry non-Uyghurs, and separated Uyghur children from their families. Party apparatchiks have denied international observers unhindered access to Xinjiang and denounced reliable reports about the worsening situation on the ground, instead spinning fanciful tales of happy Uyghurs participating in educational, counter-terror, women’s empowerment, and poverty alleviation projects. Meanwhile, they are delivering far darker messages to their own people, portraying Uyghurs as “malignant tumors,” comparing their faith to a “communicable plague,” and exhorting the Party faithful to implement a crushing blow, telling them “you can’t uproot all the weeds hidden among the crops in the field one-by-one; you need to spray chemicals to kill them all.” Since the Allied forces exposed the horrors of Nazi concentration camps, the refrain “Never again” has become the civilized world’s rallying cry against these horrors. Just because an atrocity is perpetrated in a manner that is different than what we have observed in the past, does not make it any less an atrocity. Today, I thus make the following determinations: After careful examination of the available facts, I have determined that since at least March 2017, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), under the direction and control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has committed crimes against humanity against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other members of ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. These crimes are ongoing and include: the arbitrary imprisonmentor other severe deprivation of physical liberty of more than one million civilians, forced sterilization, torture of a large number of those arbitrarily detained, forced labor, and the imposition of draconian restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, and freedom of movement. The Nuremberg Tribunals at the end of World War II prosecuted perpetrators for crimes against humanity, the same crimes being perpetrated in Xinjiang. In addition, after careful examination of the available facts, I have determined that the PRC, under the direction and control of the CCP, has committed genocide against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. I believe this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uyghurs by the Chinese party-state. The governing authorities of the second most economically, militarily, and politically powerful country on earth have made clear that they are engaged in the forced assimilation and eventual erasure of a vulnerable ethnic and religious minority group, even as they simultaneously assert their country as a global leader and attempt to remold the international system in their image. The United States calls upon the PRC immediately to release all arbitrarily detained persons and abolish its system of internment, detention camps, house arrest and forced labor; cease coercive population control measures, including forced sterilizations, forced abortion, forced birth control, and the removal of children from their families; end all torture and abuse in places of detention; end the persecution of Uyghurs and other members of religious and ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang and elsewhere in China, and afford Uyghurs and other persecuted minorities the freedom to travel and emigrate. We further call on all appropriate multilateral and relevant juridical bodies, to join the United States in our effort to promote accountability for those responsible for these atrocities. I have directed the U.S. Department of State to continue to investigate and collect relevant information regarding the ongoing atrocities occurring in Xinjiang, and to make this evidence available to appropriate authorities and the international community to the extent allowable by law. The United States, on its part, has spoken out and taken action, implementing a range of sanctions against senior CCP leaders and state-run enterprises that fund the architecture of repression across Xinjiang. The United States has worked exhaustively to pull into the light what the Communist Party and General Secretary Xi Jinping wish to keep hidden through obfuscation, propaganda, and coercion. Beijing’s atrocities in Xinjiang represent an extreme affront to the Uyghurs, the people of China, and civilized people everywhere. We will not remain silent. If the Chinese Communist Party is allowed to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against its own people, imagine what it will be emboldened to do to the free world, in the not-so-distant future. Determination of the Secretary of State on Atrocities in Xinjiang 01/19/2021 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Determination of the Secretary of State on Atrocities in Xinjiang 01/19/2021 12:27 PM EST Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State The United States of America has led the world in holding the perpetrators of the most heinous human rights abuses accountable. From the Nuremberg Trials, to the creation of the Genocide Convention in 1948, to the declaration of ISIS’s recent genocide against the Yazidis, Christians, and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, Americans have given voice to those who have been silenced by evil, and stood with the living who cry out for truth, the rule of law, and justice. We do so not because we are compelled to act by any international court, multilateral body, or domestic political concern. We do so because it is right. For the past four years, this Administration has exposed the nature of the Chinese Communist Party and called it what it is: a Marxist-Leninist regime that exerts power over the long-suffering Chinese people through brainwashing and brute force. We have paid particular attention to the CCP’s treatment of the Uyghur people, a Muslim minority group that resides largely in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Western China. While the CCP has always exhibited a profound hostility to all people of faith, we have watched with growing alarm the Party’s increasingly repressive treatment of the Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups. Our exhaustive documentation of the PRC’s actions in Xinjiang confirms that since at least March 2017, local authorities dramatically escalated their decades-long campaign of repression against Uyghur Muslims and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups, including ethnic Kazakhs and ethnic Kyrgyz. Their morally repugnant, wholesale policies, practices, and abuses are designed systematically to discriminate against and surveil ethnic Uyghurs as a unique demographic and ethnic group, restrict their freedom to travel, emigrate, and attend schools, and deny other basic human rights of assembly, speech, and worship. PRC authorities have conducted forced sterilizations and abortions on Uyghur women, coerced them to marry non-Uyghurs, and separated Uyghur children from their families. Party apparatchiks have denied international observers unhindered access to Xinjiang and denounced reliable reports about the worsening situation on the ground, instead spinning fanciful tales of happy Uyghurs participating in educational, counter-terror, women’s empowerment, and poverty alleviation projects. Meanwhile, they are delivering far darker messages to their own people, portraying Uyghurs as “malignant tumors,” comparing their faith to a “communicable plague,” and exhorting the Party faithful to implement a crushing blow, telling them “you can’t uproot all the weeds hidden among the crops in the field one-by-one; you need to spray chemicals to kill them all.” Since the Allied forces exposed the horrors of Nazi concentration camps, the refrain “Never again” has become the civilized world’s rallying cry against these horrors. Just because an atrocity is perpetrated in a manner that is different than what we have observed in the past, does not make it any less an atrocity. Today, I thus make the following determinations: After careful examination of the available facts, I have determined that since at least March 2017, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), under the direction and control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has committed crimes against humanity against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other members of ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. These crimes are ongoing and include: the arbitrary imprisonmentor other severe deprivation of physical liberty of more than one million civilians, forced sterilization, torture of a large number of those arbitrarily detained, forced labor, and the imposition of draconian restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, and freedom of movement. The Nuremberg Tribunals at the end of World War II prosecuted perpetrators for crimes against humanity, the same crimes being perpetrated in Xinjiang. In addition, after careful examination of the available facts, I have determined that the PRC, under the direction and control of the CCP, has committed genocide against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. I believe this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uyghurs by the Chinese party-state. The governing authorities of the second most economically, militarily, and politically powerful country on earth have made clear that they are engaged in the forced assimilation and eventual erasure of a vulnerable ethnic and religious minority group, even as they simultaneously assert their country as a global leader and attempt to remold the international system in their image. The United States calls upon the PRC immediately to release all arbitrarily detained persons and abolish its system of internment, detention camps, house arrest and forced labor; cease coercive population control measures, including forced sterilizations, forced abortion, forced birth control, and the removal of children from their families; end all torture and abuse in places of detention; end the persecution of Uyghurs and other members of religious and ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang and elsewhere in China, and afford Uyghurs and other persecuted minorities the freedom to travel and emigrate. We further call on all appropriate multilateral and relevant juridical bodies, to join the United States in our effort to promote accountability for those responsible for these atrocities. I have directed the U.S. Department of State to continue to investigate and collect relevant information regarding the ongoing atrocities occurring in Xinjiang, and to make this evidence available to appropriate authorities and the international community to the extent allowable by law. The United States, on its part, has spoken out and taken action, implementing a range of sanctions against senior CCP leaders and state-run enterprises that fund the architecture of repression across Xinjiang. The United States has worked exhaustively to pull into the light what the Communist Party and General Secretary Xi Jinping wish to keep hidden through obfuscation, propaganda, and coercion. Beijing’s atrocities in Xinjiang represent an extreme affront to the Uyghurs, the people of China, and civilized people everywhere. We will not remain silent. If the Chinese Communist Party is allowed to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against its own people, imagine what it will be emboldened to do to the free world, in the not-so-distant future. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With John Roberts of Fox News America Reports 01/19/2021 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With John Roberts of Fox News America Reports 01/19/2021 03:39 PM EST Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State Via Teleconference QUESTION:  A Fox News alert now, the United States leveling perhaps the most serious charge a country can face, accusing China in the last hour and a bit of committing genocide and crimes against humanity in its repression of Uyghur Muslims.  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the announcement just a short time ago.  He joins us now for an exclusive interview. Mr. Secretary, good to have you with us.  Let me just read if I could from your statement.  You said, quote, “I have determined that the People’s Republic of China, under the direction and control of the Chinese Communist Party, has committed genocide and crimes against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups.” A very significant declaration, obviously one that China will oppose vigorously, but also one that sort of runs counter to what President Trump’s position has been for the last couple of years. SECRETARY POMPEO:  Well, John, thanks for having me on.  This is a very serious and tragic set of actions that are taking place there in the western part of China.  We have been talking and working on this for an awfully long time in the Trump administration.  We have sanctioned officials.  We have told businesses they couldn’t bring products out of this region.  We’ve told businesses to be very careful that they could be too close to what’s taking place there, right. This is forced labor.  This is forced sterilizations, forced abortions – John, the kind of things that we haven’t seen in an awfully long time in this world.  And we now have conducted an exhaustive review of the facts and made the determination that, in fact, the Chinese Communist Party has committed these crimes against humanity, is continuing to try and deny these people – not just the Uyghur Muslims but other faiths as well – the simple capacity to continue to exist and to create an ethnic set of activities that we haven’t seen in an awfully long time. I’ve referred to this over time as the stain of the century.  It is truly that.  And today’s actions is simply a continuation of the work this administration has done to try and convince the Chinese Communist Party to cease this terrible, terrible set of human rights violations that have been taking place. QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, since you made the announcement a little more than an hour ago, it has received a tremendous amount of approval in the United States Congress, particularly from your Republican colleagues.  This was something that then-candidate Joe Biden proclaimed about a year ago.  Now, obviously when you’re a candidate it’s much easier to say something than when you are the State Department, but some of your Republican colleagues – Ben Sasse notably – are saying, “What took so long?” SECRETARY POMPEO:  Look, I’m happy to accept that critique.  What took so long is when you do something like this, you have to be right.  You have to – and I think this will be a bipartisan analysis that will be shared by a broad swath of American leadership.  Indeed, leaders all across the world I think will recognize that the United States got this right. But John, this is a serious matter.  We didn’t take it lightly.  We wanted to continue to work.  There were lots of vigorous discussions all across the United States Government.  We talked with people all across the world.  We relied on facts that came from nongovernmental organizations, journalists, other governments to make sure that we had everything just right, and we wouldn’t have done this if we weren’t convinced that these declarations, this determination that I have issued today, was proper, appropriate, and would hopefully lead to better lives for people in this region.  That, in the end, John, is our objective. QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, you, like the President, are in the last hours of your tenure at the State Department.  Looking ahead to the Biden administration, we’re wondering what we can expect.  In an exclusive interview with foxnews.com, counterintelligence chief Bill Evanina saying, quote, “We have to educate America so they know what malign influence tastes like, smells like, looks like, so when they see it they can call it out.  I think the challenge for the Biden administration will be to understand the scope and scale of some of the Chinese threats in the American landscape domestically and what is the best course to defeat that.” Here we have a president-elect who not long ago said, “China is going to eat our lunch?  Come on, man.”  Do you believe that the Biden administration will be fully equipped to handle what many people say is the greatest future threat facing America? SECRETARY POMPEO:  John, I’m counting on it.  More importantly, the American people are counting on it.  This threat – the work that President Trump has done to identify the risk – he talked about it with tariffs and economic issues.  We’ve talked about it with spies operating out of a consulate in Houston.  This challenge, the threat from the Chinese Communist Party, is real; it is existential to the United States.  We have to get this right.  And I am counting on the next administration continuing our work, continuing to build out on the things that we have done in the exact way that the American people will demand. I have great confidence that the American people have come to understand this challenge from the Chinese Communist Party and will expect every leader, whatever political stripe, to continue to protect and secure American freedoms. QUESTION:  Your presumed successor, Antony Blinken, begins his confirmation hearing in about an hour.  He says in his opening statement, quote, “Humility and confidence should be the flip sides of America’s leadership coin … Humility because we have a great deal of work to do at home to enhance our standing abroad.” There are some critics who are saying this sounds like Obama redux.  Is he going to begin with an apology tour? SECRETARY POMPEO:  Boy, I sure hope not, John.  I’m proud of this country.  Our founders recognized it was an imperfect union.  We all strive to be better.  But this is the most exceptional nation in the history of civilization.  I am proud of the work that the Trump administration has done in the Middle East, on China that we’ve been talking about.  We made life better for people all across the world.  We recognized that the people of Iran and North Korea deserved better, and we worked diligently to achieve that.  It ought not be an America that we apologize for.  We should be proud of the greatness, the uniqueness, and the exceptionalism of the United States of America. QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, it’s been good to talk to you.  We wish you well post-administration. SECRETARY POMPEO:  Thank you, John. QUESTION:  Thanks so much for joining us exclusively today.  We really appreciate it. SECRETARY POMPEO:  Thank you, John.  Have a good day. QUESTION:  You, too.   Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With John Roberts of Fox News America Reports 01/19/2021 You are subscribed to Secretary's Remarks for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With John Roberts of Fox News America Reports 01/19/2021 03:39 PM EST Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State Via Teleconference QUESTION:  A Fox News alert now, the United States leveling perhaps the most serious charge a country can face, accusing China in the last hour and a bit of committing genocide and crimes against humanity in its repression of Uyghur Muslims.  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the announcement just a short time ago.  He joins us now for an exclusive interview. Mr. Secretary, good to have you with us.  Let me just read if I could from your statement.  You said, quote, “I have determined that the People’s Republic of China, under the direction and control of the Chinese Communist Party, has committed genocide and crimes against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups.” A very significant declaration, obviously one that China will oppose vigorously, but also one that sort of runs counter to what President Trump’s position has been for the last couple of years. SECRETARY POMPEO:  Well, John, thanks for having me on.  This is a very serious and tragic set of actions that are taking place there in the western part of China.  We have been talking and working on this for an awfully long time in the Trump administration.  We have sanctioned officials.  We have told businesses they couldn’t bring products out of this region.  We’ve told businesses to be very careful that they could be too close to what’s taking place there, right. This is forced labor.  This is forced sterilizations, forced abortions – John, the kind of things that we haven’t seen in an awfully long time in this world.  And we now have conducted an exhaustive review of the facts and made the determination that, in fact, the Chinese Communist Party has committed these crimes against humanity, is continuing to try and deny these people – not just the Uyghur Muslims but other faiths as well – the simple capacity to continue to exist and to create an ethnic set of activities that we haven’t seen in an awfully long time. I’ve referred to this over time as the stain of the century.  It is truly that.  And today’s actions is simply a continuation of the work this administration has done to try and convince the Chinese Communist Party to cease this terrible, terrible set of human rights violations that have been taking place. QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, since you made the announcement a little more than an hour ago, it has received a tremendous amount of approval in the United States Congress, particularly from your Republican colleagues.  This was something that then-candidate Joe Biden proclaimed about a year ago.  Now, obviously when you’re a candidate it’s much easier to say something than when you are the State Department, but some of your Republican colleagues – Ben Sasse notably – are saying, “What took so long?” SECRETARY POMPEO:  Look, I’m happy to accept that critique.  What took so long is when you do something like this, you have to be right.  You have to – and I think this will be a bipartisan analysis that will be shared by a broad swath of American leadership.  Indeed, leaders all across the world I think will recognize that the United States got this right. But John, this is a serious matter.  We didn’t take it lightly.  We wanted to continue to work.  There were lots of vigorous discussions all across the United States Government.  We talked with people all across the world.  We relied on facts that came from nongovernmental organizations, journalists, other governments to make sure that we had everything just right, and we wouldn’t have done this if we weren’t convinced that these declarations, this determination that I have issued today, was proper, appropriate, and would hopefully lead to better lives for people in this region.  That, in the end, John, is our objective. QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, you, like the President, are in the last hours of your tenure at the State Department.  Looking ahead to the Biden administration, we’re wondering what we can expect.  In an exclusive interview with foxnews.com, counterintelligence chief Bill Evanina saying, quote, “We have to educate America so they know what malign influence tastes like, smells like, looks like, so when they see it they can call it out.  I think the challenge for the Biden administration will be to understand the scope and scale of some of the Chinese threats in the American landscape domestically and what is the best course to defeat that.” Here we have a president-elect who not long ago said, “China is going to eat our lunch?  Come on, man.”  Do you believe that the Biden administration will be fully equipped to handle what many people say is the greatest future threat facing America? SECRETARY POMPEO:  John, I’m counting on it.  More importantly, the American people are counting on it.  This threat – the work that President Trump has done to identify the risk – he talked about it with tariffs and economic issues.  We’ve talked about it with spies operating out of a consulate in Houston.  This challenge, the threat from the Chinese Communist Party, is real; it is existential to the United States.  We have to get this right.  And I am counting on the next administration continuing our work, continuing to build out on the things that we have done in the exact way that the American people will demand. I have great confidence that the American people have come to understand this challenge from the Chinese Communist Party and will expect every leader, whatever political stripe, to continue to protect and secure American freedoms. QUESTION:  Your presumed successor, Antony Blinken, begins his confirmation hearing in about an hour.  He says in his opening statement, quote, “Humility and confidence should be the flip sides of America’s leadership coin … Humility because we have a great deal of work to do at home to enhance our standing abroad.” There are some critics who are saying this sounds like Obama redux.  Is he going to begin with an apology tour? SECRETARY POMPEO:  Boy, I sure hope not, John.  I’m proud of this country.  Our founders recognized it was an imperfect union.  We all strive to be better.  But this is the most exceptional nation in the history of civilization.  I am proud of the work that the Trump administration has done in the Middle East, on China that we’ve been talking about.  We made life b ... [Message clipped]  View entire message ReplyForward