Public Statements
As Co-Chairs of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, and recognizing the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on November 2, we are troubled by the intensified crackdown on press freedoms in Turkey.
On September 16, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission was pleased to welcome a delegation from ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) for a briefing on the human rights situation in member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Burma, where they recently concluded a fact-finding mission.
Twenty-six Members of Congress, including the Co-Chairs and seven other members of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, wrote to President Obama urging him to use Xi Jinping's first official state visit to the United States to address the "difficult issues," including China's persistent and egregious human rights violations.
As Co-Chairs of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, we are deeply concerned about recent events in Cambodia that raise serious questions about the government’s commitment to human rights.
As Co-Chairs of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, we express our deep disappointment over the State Department’s decision, in the newest State Department Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, to upgrade Malaysia from the lowest ranking of Tier 3 to a Tier 2 Watch country.
As Co-Chairs of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, we express our deep concern over the state of human rights in Vietnam.
As Co-Chairs of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, we condemn the Russian Federation’s continued unlawful imprisonment of Ukrainian fighter pilot and Member of Parliament Nadiya Savchenko.
TLHRC Letter to Secretary Kerry Regarding the Continued Detention of Peaceful Activists in Indonesia
On June 18, 2015, six members of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, Congressmen Joseph R. Pitts (R-PA), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Randy Hultgren (R-IL), and Juan Vargas (D-CA), sent a letter to Secretary Kerry in advance of Indonesian President Joko Widodo's upcoming visit to the United States.
Today we commemorate the 26th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. On June 3 and 4, 1989, peaceful pro-democracy protests led by students, workers, and others in Beijing's Tiananmen Square were violently crushed by Chinese government forces.