East Turkistan, what Beijing calls “Xinjiang (New Territory),” is the focus of a new appeal by the East Turkistan Government in Exile urging President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to add the China–East Turkistan conflict to its executive agenda. In a statement dated February 19, 2026, the exiled government called for a dedicated board track and coordinated member-state commitments on accountability measures and protections for East Turkistani communities.
The appeal frames East Turkistan as an occupied country under the colonial rule of the People’s Republic of China and argues that the occupation enables an ongoing campaign of genocide and crimes against humanity targeting Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz and other Turkic peoples.
Exiled government urges executive board steps and a time-bound track
In its statement, the East Turkistan Government in Exile urged the Board of Peace’s executive leadership to place the China–East Turkistan conflict on the executive agenda as a standing item and to appoint a senior coordinator empowered to convene participating states and structure a time-bound implementation track with defined deliverables.
It also asked the board to recognise the issue as a decolonization question and to direct its work to apply self-determination principles, including the restoration of national independence. The statement called on member states to coordinate restrictions on procurement linked to forced labour, adopt protections against transnational repression targeting diaspora communities, and end intelligence and “security” cooperation that, it said, enables a genocidal occupation.
“Recognize that the China–East Turkistan Conflict is a decolonization question, that the PRC’s colonial occupation enables the ongoing genocide, and direct the Board’s work on East Turkistan to apply decolonization and self-determination principles, including the restoration of national independence.”
— East Turkistan Government in Exile
Board of Peace convening power highlighted after Washington meeting
The statement was issued the same day Trump hosted an inaugural Board of Peace meeting in Washington where participating states announced financial commitments for Gaza reconstruction and troop contributions to an international stabilisation force, according to reporting by The Associated Press.
Reuters also reported that Trump has indicated the board could examine additional global hotspots beyond Gaza, a point the East Turkistan Government in Exile cited as a basis for its request that East Turkistan be added to the board’s forward agenda.
