Parliamentarians at Risk Around the World
Announcement
Co-Hosted by the House Democracy Partnership
Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and the House Democracy Partnership for a briefing on parliamentarians at risk around the world.
In the face of growing authoritarianism across the globe, parliamentarians who carry out their duties and raise their voices on behalf of their constituencies are suffering reprisals. In 2018, the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) processed 564 cases of requests for redress for members of parliament who had been intimidated, attacked, jailed or killed – the highest caseload in the Committee’s 40-year history.
Panelists will describe their first-hand experiences as parliamentarians at risk or their family members and share their recommendations for responding to a growing threat that targets the legislative heart of democratic political systems.
This briefing will be open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the interested public, and the media. For any questions, please contact Kimberly Stanton at 202-225-3599 (for TLHRC Co-Chair McGovern) or Piero Tozzi at 202-225-3765 (for TLHRC Co-Chair Smith).
Hosted by:
Member of Congress
Co-Chair, TLHRC
Member of Congress
Co-Chair, TLHRC
Opening Remarks
- Rep. James P. McGovern, Co-Chair, TLHRC
Written remarks - Rep. David Price, Chair, House Democracy Partnership
Panelists
- Delsa Solórzano, Vice President, IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians and member, Venezuelan National Assembly (by video)
Written statement - Hisyar Ozsoy, member, Grand National Assembly, Turkey
Written statement - Vicente de Lima, brother of detained Filipino Senator Leila De Lima
Written statement
Sen. Leila de Lima, DFP Prisoner of Conscience - Gabriela Cuevas Barrón, IPU President and member, Congress of the Union, Mexico
Written statement
Moderator
- Mary Milliken, Foreign Policy Editor, Reuters
Resources
- Inter-Parliamentary Union, Violations of the Human Rights of MPs - 2018
- Inter-Parliamentary Union, Venezuela - Decision Adopted, 204th Session (April 10, 2019)
- Inter-Parliamentry Union, Turkey - Decision Adopted, 204th Session (April 10, 2019)
- Inter-Parliamentary Union, Philippines - Decision Adopted, 204th Session (April 10, 2019)