Mr. Speaker, I want to join my voice to others who are wishing colleagues best wishes for the holidays and if they celebrate, a merry Christmas. I know often during this time of year, we turn our attention to those who are less fortunate or who are in a vulnerable position, and it is in that spirit that I table a petition.
The petitioners highlight the horrific human rights abuses targeting Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in China. They highlight a campaign of forced abortion, forced sterilization, forced insertion of IUDs, undermining the bodily autonomy and the rights of Uighur women. It is also part of an effort by the Government of China to reduce the Uighur population, efforts that have been called by the Subcommittee on International Human Rights and by petitioners a genocide.
The petitioners call on the House to recognize that genocide and also to use the Magnitsky act to target those involved in these violations. Oftentimes during holidays, we see escalations of human rights abuses in certain parts of the world when perhaps authoritarian governments think that our attention is turned. We need to continue to be vigilant and aware of these issues even during—