Introduction:
The global Uyghur movement was profoundly shaken on May 10, 2024, when two women accused two prominent leaders of the Uyghur diaspora. Specifically, Dolkun Isa, the Executive President of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) based in Munich, Germany, and Nury Turkel, Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and a Board Member of the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), were individually accused of sexual harassment.

Nury Turkel:

• In 2019, at least one woman raised concerns to the Human Rights Foundation about Turkel’s behavior at a gathering of the Oslo Freedom Forum that year.
• In 2022, at least one other woman lodged a complaint.
• In 2023, Julie Millsap, a contractor with UHRP, made an accusation against Turkel.
• In May 2024, Millsap was expelled from UHRP after raising concerns in the NOTUS report about the organization's handling of misconduct claims.
• In response, UHRP announced in June 2024 the formation of internal committees to investigate misconduct claims and review ethics policies. However, Millsap was allegedly threatened to withdraw her accusations against Turkel.
• As of now, neither Turkel nor UHRP has issued an apology to the victims and whistleblowers.

Dolkun Isa:

• In 2021, Esma Gün, a Turkish-Belgian student, provided a screenshot of a message implicating Dolkun Isa in misconduct. 
• Two unnamed Uyghur women separately accused Dolkun Isa of unprofessional sexual advances in interviews with NOTUS.
• On July 26, 2024, David Tobin and 24 other scholars released a statement condemning sexual harassment within the human rights community and emphasizing the importance of women's roles in documenting human rights abuses.
• On August 4, 2024, following its 8th General Assembly, WUC announced that Dolkun Isa would temporarily step down pending a fully independent investigation.

Purpose of the Petition:

• Obtain public apologies from WUC, UHRP, Dolkun Isa, and Nury Turkel to the female victims.
• Disqualify Dolkun Isa as a representative of the 8th WUC.
• Ensure that WUC's independent investigation is transparent and fair.
• Prevent WUC and UHRP from retaliating against and defaming whistleblowers.

Sources:
https://www.notus.org/policy/human-rights-groups-sexual-harassment
https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/how-me-too-moment-leaves-uyghurs-global-diaspora-movement-in-doldrums-13771939.html
https://www.notus.org/policy/allegations-human-rights-organization
https://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/statement-change-in-wuc-leadership/