Abdul Kayum Masimov

Expert Overview

Abdul Kayum Masimov is an expert on issues of Uyghur rights, Uyghur genocide, Uyghur refugees and Communist China.

Born in a family of Uyghur refugees in the ex-USSR, Kayum Masimov has been actively engaged in the East Turkistan Independence movement since early childhood. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the Oriental Studies Institute in Tashkent, Turkey, and a Master's Degree in Economics from Vanderbilt University. He is actively engaged in Canadian Uyghur community affairs, and has assisted in many Immigration and Refugees cases with the Provincial and Federal Courts.

Kayum served as Head of the Uyghur Canadian Association from 2012-2015 and participated in numerous Parliamentary hearings dedicated to the Uyghur cause. He is also an official translator/interpreter in Uyghur, Turkish, French and Russian languages with Quebec's Order of Professional Interpreters/Translators.

Kayum is the Project Coordinator at Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP), an organization that aims to be the most credible, reliable and effective Uyghur organization representing the strongest Uyghur voice in Canada. URAP has participated in various parliamentary hearings drawing awareness and recognition of the plight of Uyghurs in China and having it recognized as a genocide.