The ETGE claims to be the sole legitimate organization and a parliamentary-based government in exile representing East Turkistan and its people on the international stage.

[4] The East Turkistan Government in Exile has been described by scholars as a prominent fringe Uyghur organization that advocates for radical methods driven by religious and ethnic motives.

They wrote statements accusing Anwar Yusuf Turani of acting under the instructions of the Chinese government, particularly in relation to the strategy of dividing dissident organizations.

[11] The East Turkistan Government in Exile has been described by scholars as one of several "Uyghur groups advocating radical forms of ideological and armed struggle including terrorist activities".

[14] The ETGE describes itself as democratically elected parliamentary-based exile government that seeks to end "China's occupation and colonization" of East Turkistan, which overlaps with what China calls the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and seeks to "restore the independence of East Turkistan" which would take the form of a democratic parliamentary republic with protections for civil liberties for all people groups of the region.

[17][16] On July 14, 2020, the ETGE signed onto a joint letter by 64 Canadian MPs and 20 organizations urging Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his deputy Chrystia Freeland and Global Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne to sanction PRC and Hong Kong officials "directly responsible for the human rights atrocities happening in Tibet, occupied East Turkestan (Xinjiang), and Hong Kong.

"[21] On August 28, 2020, the ETGE held a global demonstration in Adelaide, Tokyo, Frankfurt, The Hague, Paris, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Edmonton to protest what they claim are China's atrocities against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples and urged the international community to recognize the alleged atrocities as a genocide while also recognizing "East Turkistan as an occupied country.

[22][23] The complaint is the first attempt to use an international legal forum to challenge China over allegations of extensive human rights abuses against Muslim Turkic people in East Turkistan.

[24][25] The ETGE's Prime Minister, Salih Hudayar, told Radio Free Asia's Chinese service that "for too long we have been oppressed by China and its Communist Party and we have suffered so much that the genocide of our people can be no longer ignored.

[29] ETGE and ETNAM held numerous demonstrations, press conferences, and other events urging the world to recognize China's genocide in East Turkistan (Xinjiang).

[34][35] Salih Hudayar, the Prime Minister of the East Turkistan Government in Exile, told The Wall Street Journal that the ETGE had been pushing for the designation for two years and that the ETGE hopes that this designation will lead to real, strong actions to hold China accountable and bring an end to China's genocide.