Human rights

November 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), along with Constitution Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers [D-MI], Crime Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott [D-VA], Rep. Anthony Weiner [D-NY] , Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee [D-TX], and Ways and Means Subcommittee Chairman John Lewis [D-GA] today introduced the Effective Death Penalty Appeals Act (H.R. 3986), which would ensure that death row inmates have the opportunity to present newly discovered evidence of innocence.

Under current law, an inmate on death row can be stranded with no procedural options to appeal a conviction, even if there is compelling new evidence that he or she is innocent.

The Effective Death Penalty Appeals Act would:    » read more »

Oppose House Resolution on Goldstone Report

November 2, 2009 -- (Washington DC) - Members of the US House of Representatives should oppose a resolution that calls for the Obama administration to reject scrutiny of Israel and Hamas for laws-of-war violations in the recent Gaza conflict, Human Rights Watch said today.

House Resolution 867 calls on the US president and secretary of state to "oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration of the ‘Report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict' in multilateral fora." Debate on the non-binding resolution is scheduled for November 3, 2009.    » read more »

Michael H. Posner, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

Washington, DC -- October 26, 2009 -- ASSISTANT SECRETARY POSNER: Thank you, Madame Secretary, for your remarks and for your leadership on this issue of religious freedom. I have recently been confirmed as the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. In this position, I’m charged with leading the bureau in which the Office of International Religious Freedom is a part.    » read more »

October 19, 2009 -- (New York) - The Obama administration's new Sudan policy, announced this morning, represents a positive step toward improving human rights and securing justice in Sudan, Human Rights Watch said today. The policy aims to end conflict in Darfur and ensure implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

It recognizes the need to apply continued and increased pressure on Sudan to obtain progress on human rights and justice for atrocities committed in Darfur to ensure lasting peace in Sudan.    » read more »

Harsh Crackdown on Followers of Buddhist Peace Activist Thich Nhat Hanh

October 18, 2009 -- (New York) - The violent forced expulsion of more than 300 followers of the world-renowned Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh from Bat Nha monastery in late September highlights the Vietnamese government's suppression of religious freedom, Human Rights Watch said today.

In 2005, the Vietnamese government welcomed Thich Nhat Hanh during his first return to his homeland after 39 years in exile abroad. Government and religious officials subsequently invited him to open a Buddhist meditation center at Bat Nha monastery in Lam Dong province, which soon began to draw large numbers of followers.    » read more »

October 16, 2009 -- (Washington D.C.) - The Congressional-Executive Commission on China published its 2009 Annual Report on October 14. The Commission was created by Congress in 2000 to monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law in China. The full text of this year’s report is available at www.cecc.gov, along with a PDF containing case records of 1,279 political prisoners currently detained or imprisoned in China.    » read more »

Congress recently reached agreement on landmark legislation that brings our nation closer to living up to its ideals.

October 16, 2009 -- "Senate and House negotiators included the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. The act, which I helped shape as the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, will soon become law.

The hate crimes language included in the act has passed both houses of Congress in the past. Existing law gives federal officials jurisdiction over crimes of violence which are committed because of a person's race, color, religion, and national origin. The new language adds gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability and membership in the military.    » read more »

October 6, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) chaired a second hearing today on the U.S. government’s efforts to identify, investigate and prosecute suspected human rights abusers found to be living in America. Durbin’s first hearing on the subject was in late 2007.

“Two years ago, this Subcommittee held the first-ever Congressional hearing on the enforcement of human rights laws in the United States. While progress has been made, there is still much more to be done,” Durbin said. “The world is watching us closely. When we bring human rights violators to justice, foreign governments are spurred into action, victims take heart, and future perpetrators think twice.”    » read more »

United States Senator Roland W. Burris Delivers Floor Statement on Senate Resolution to Apologize for Slavery

June 18, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Roland W. Burris today delivered a statement on the Senate floor supporting Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) for their introduction of a resolution to apologize for slavery, Jim Crow laws, and policies of segregation and hate.

Senator Burris made the following remarks from the Senate floor:    » read more »

Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee Holds Hearing To Examine ‘Prolonged Detention’

WASHINGTON -- June 9, 2009 – A Senate Judiciary Committee panel Tuesday morning will consider the consequences of ‘prolonged detention’ of detainees held in U.S. custody. The Subcommittee on the Constitution, chaired by Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), will hear testimony from a panel of six witnesses. Member statements, witness testimony, and a live webcast of the hearing are available online.

Full Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) issued the following statement at the hearing.

Statement Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),

Chairman, Committee On The Judiciary,

Hearing On “The Legal, Moral, and National Security    » read more »

June 5, 2009 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today vetoed HB 6578, An Act Concerning the Penalty for a Capital Felony, which sought to eliminate the death penalty as a sentencing option in Connecticut.

A copy of the Governor’s veto message is attached.

June 5, 2009

The Honorable Susan Bysiewicz

Secretary of the State

18-20 Trinity Street

Hartford, CT 06106

Dear Madame Secretary:

I am hereby returning without my signature HB 6578, An Act Concerning the Penalty for a Capital Felony. This bill eliminates the death penalty as a sentencing option for crimes committed on or after the bill's effective date.    » read more »

But US Needs Stronger Message for Repressive Regional Allies

June 4, 2009 -- (Cairo) – President Barack Obama’s much-anticipated June 4, 2009, speech to the Muslim world avoided confronting authoritarian governments directly, but sent a welcome message that Washington would not let the prospect of empowering Islamist parties deter it from supporting democracy in the region, Human Rights Watch said today.    » read more »

May 29, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) welcomed North Dakota native Roxana Saberi home to North Dakota today, four months after she was first arrested in Iran.

A statement from Senator Dorgan follows.
TEXT OF STATEMENT
BY SENATOR BYRON DORGAN

May 29, 2009

“Roxana Saberi and her family have been through a lot in the past four months. She was wrongly arrested and imprisoned, falsely accused of being a spy, sentenced to eight years in prison, and finally released after an outpouring of support from people around the world.

“After all of that, it feels good to welcome Roxana home to North Dakota.    » read more »

New Report Charts Changing Global Opinion Against the Weapon

May 29, 2009 -- (Geneva) - The prohibition on cluster munitions is firmly taking hold as more countries join the new treaty banning the weapon and hold-out states shift their policies in the right direction, says a report jointly released today by Human Rights Watch, Landmine Action, and Landmine Monitor.    » read more »

28 May 2009 -- More than six decades of human rights failures by governments have been exacerbated by the world economic crisis, which brought the problems of poverty and inequality to the fore, according to Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

"It’s not just the economy, it’s a human rights crisis: the world is sitting on a social, political and economic time bomb," said Irene Kahn as she launched Amnesty International’s annual report on the state of the world’s human rights.

Billions of people are suffering from insecurity, injustice and indignity around the world. In many cases, the economic crisis made matters worse, with millions more sliding into poverty.    » read more »