In the News
The tiny and sometimes troubled Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, must allow its electorate to "express themselves peacefully" during an election in the wake of pro-democracy uprisings, heads of a bipartisan congressional human rights commission have warned.
Every day, millions of Americans enjoy freedoms that are under attack in countries around the world. As we see more journalists and activists imprisoned and tortured, religious minorities persecuted and political dissidents suppressed every year, now is the moment for the United States to stand up for these human rights and democratic principles when they are threatened abroad.
In late January, Representatives Randy Hultgren, Republican of Illinois, and James McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts, chairmen of the House human rights commission, urged Vice President Mike Pence to expedite approvals for the Iranians. "These Iranians are members of religious minorities fleeing a regime that has brutally oppressed their communities since 1979," they said in a statement. "This being the case, they should be presumed eligible for admittance to the United States as refugees under the Lautenberg Amendment."
The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hosted a hearing on February 15 highlighting the Commission's Defending Freedoms Project, which allows members of Congress to take the personal initiative to become advocates for persons unjustly incarcerated by repressive governments around the world.
A bipartisan quartet of lawmakers is imploring Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to end a blockade on war-ravaged Yemen. The letter was organized by Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), who are members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and co-signed by Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission co-chairmen Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.).