Human Rights

The Senate Intelligence Committee’s report is deeply disturbing. The United States should never use torture. Period. It’s morally wrong, it’s ineffective and it puts our own troops at risk. We should do whatever it takes to make sure this sad chapter in American history is never repeated. Read more »

The following are the remarks given by U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (MA02) during a panel, The Legacy of the Jesuits on U.S. Foreign Policy toward El Salvador and Central America and on the Society of Jesus, at University of Central America José Simeón Cañas on Saturday, November, 15, 2014. Read more »

The 53-year-old economic embargo against Cuba has not worked. It has not overturned the Cuban government. But it has done grave harm to the lives of ordinary Cubans and increasingly isolated the United States in the region, the hemisphere and the world. The Cold War is over. It’s time to change. Read more »

I was pleased to meet Minister Garzón, whom I have admired and respected for many years. We had a wide-ranging discussion about the importance of labor rights to the peace process and how much remains to be done in Colombia to guarantee labor rights and protect workers and labor activists. Read more »

I strongly protest the detention of Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, and I call upon the Government of Bahrain to release him immediately. Read more »

“I welcome the Administration’s announcement today on landmines. It brings the United States that much closer to full compliance and becoming a party to the international landmine ban treaty.  I will continue to press for changes on the Korean Peninsula, because I believe that appropriate ‘material and operational solutions’ can be developed and are within… Read more »

Rep. McGovern recently made several requests to Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a guarantee of access to Bahrain for himself, one of his staff, and Brian Dooley, Director of the Human Rights Defenders program at Human Rights First. Rep. McGovern planned a fact-finding mission and sought to engage in discussions of the current situation with all involved parties – Bahraini government, opposition, and civil society organizations. Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs failed to provide a guarantee that Rep. McGovern would be able to travel to Bahrain. Read more »

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (MA-02) traveled earlier this week (August 3-4) on a two-day fact-finding mission to the U.S.-Mexico border. He was accompanied on the trip by Adam Isacson of the Washington Office on Latin America. Rep. McGovern released the following statement about his trip: Read more »

U.S. Representative Jim McGovern joined members of the region’s Tibetan community to announce the introduction of HR 4851: The Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, in the U.S. House of Representatives.  This bipartisan bill promotes access to Tibetan areas of China for U.S. officials, journalists, and average citizens. Currently, travel restrictions imposed by the Chinese… Read more »

I am deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of unaccompanied children and families from Central America who have arrived at our borders.  I believe our existing laws, and our obligations under international humanitarian law, allow us to respond humanely and efficiently to these families and children.  They allow us to provide safe haven to those who qualify for such… Read more »