Human Rights

McGovern Helped Expose Brutal Murders Were Carried Out by U.S.-Backed Military Units; Verdict Marks Turning Point in Decades-Long Struggle for Justice Read More »

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... Read More »

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... Read More »

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... Read More »

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... Read More »

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... Read More »

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman James P. McGovern, Chairman of the House Rules Committee, Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, and a longtime proponent of peace in El Salvador, released the following statement after Spain’s National Court began the trial of two former Salvadoran military men for their alleged involvement in the massacre of six Jesuit priests and two lay women, mother and daughter, on November 16, 1989: “Even though three decades have passed, time does not diminish ... Read More »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA), Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) and a leading congressional supporter of human rights around the world, released this statement following news that Bahraini human rights defender Nabeel Rajab has been released from prison under an alternative sentencing arrangement. Rep. McGovern has served as the congressional advocate for Rajab through the Defending Freedoms Project coordinated by the TLHRC. “I am very happy... Read More »

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representatives James P. McGovern (D-MA) and Ann Wagner (R-MO), joined by Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD), have introduced the Protecting Human Rights During Pandemic Act (H.R. 6986) to affirm U.S. leadership and support for the protection of internationally recognized human rights during and after the coronavirus pandemic. The bill authorizes the State Department and the United States Agency for International Develo... Read More »

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02) joined Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Representatives Ann Wagner (MO-02), and Tom Malinowski (NJ-07) to announce the Protecting Human Rights During Pandemic Act, legislation requiring the State Department and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to take steps, through diplomacy and development assistance, to prevent... Read More »