WASHINGTON – Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA), Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and a leading congressional advocate for human rights, issued the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s decision to impose sanctions on two leading officials of the International Criminal Court: “Today the Trump Administration has once again undermined American leadership on human rights and isolated our country on the world stage. The decision to sanction the chief prose...
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and a leading congressional advocate for human rights at home and abroad, released his rebuttal to the draft report of the Trump administration’s Commission on Unalienable Rights. The congressman’s submission was joined by Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), a member of the House Judiciary Committee. “The Commission’s draft report is radically incomplete and thoroughly inadequate as a guide to...
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WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives has passed, as part of the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act, an amendment which requires the release of Department of Defense documents related to the 1981 El Mozote massacre to judicial authorities in El Salvador. The amendment was introduced by Jim McGovern (D-MA), who serves as Chairman of the House Rules Committee and Co-Chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, as well as Eliot Engel, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committe...
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA), Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and a leading congressional advocate for human rights at home and abroad, has called on the government of Bahrain to free Mohamed Ramadan and Hussein Moosa. The two men were convicted and sentenced to death in 2014 on terrorism charges, despite stating they were tortured and sexually assaulted to force a confession. “Mohamed Ramadan and Hussein Moosa were tortured and that means their conv...
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representatives James P. McGovern (D-MA), Chairman of the House Rules Committee and Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, and Mark Pocan (D-WI), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, led a group of 94 Members of Congress urging Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to press the Colombian government to commit to peace and stop the escalation of violence against Colombian human rights defenders. Since a 2016 peace accord brought an end to decades of con...
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman James P. McGovern released the following statement to be read in commemoration of the 61st Anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising: “Today, Tibetans around the world will mark the 61st anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising against Chinese rule, the moment when many Tibetans lost their lives and His Holiness the Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers were forced to flee their homeland. “In some countries the commemorations will be public, like those hel...
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WORCESTER, MASS – United States Congressman James P. McGovern, Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the U.S. House of Representatives and a leading advocate for human rights around the world, issued this statement following an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling which ordered Burma to take emergency measures to protect its Muslim Rohingya population from persecution and atrocities, and to preserve evidence of alleged crimes against them: “The ICJ’s ruling is very, very w...
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WASHINGTON — This evening, Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA), Chairman of the House Rules Committee and Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, issued this statement after the Trump Administration conducted an airstrike at the Baghdad International Airport killing Qasem Soleimani: “There is no question that Qasem Soleimani was a ruthless military commander who had American blood on his hands. But this is a serious and destabilizing escalation that could lead to war. Let’s be clear...
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WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA), Chairman of the House Rules Committee and Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, issued this statement in response to reports of violence against villagers and civilian deaths in West Darfur: “On Sudan’s January 1st National Day, I applaud the Sudanese people for their tremendous courage and commitment to creating a democratic nation, one that respects the basic human rights of all its people. Great strides were taken in 2019...
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