Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) took to the floor of the House of Representatives Monday to call for support of his “Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2011,” expected to be brought to the floor today for a final vote. “I thank the distinguished chairwoman for yielding and join her first in mourning the passing of Vaclav Havel, the great President and human rights crusader, one of the founders of Charter 77, a magnificent human rights manifesto, that took the Helsinki final act and turned... Read more

The Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2011, a bill to support people struggling for basic rights against Aleksandr Lukashenka—the man often called Europe’s last dictator—was given final approval late this afternoon by the U.S. House of Representatives. “The bill supports targeted sanctions,” said Smith, a senior member of the Committee and the Chairman of the Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe, also called the Helsinki Commission. “This has been the worst political crackdo... Read more

Legislation authored by U.S. Helsinki Commission Chairman Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) responding to the Belarusan government’s crackdown on human rights that began with the fraudulent December 19, 2010 Belarusan election, is expected to be passed by the House of Representatives Tuesday. Since last year’s fraudulent election, the Belarusan government of Alexander Lukashenka, infamous for heading “Europe’s last dictatorship,” has stepped up its campaign of repression against human rights and democrat... Read more

A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday would stop the sale of surveillance technologies to repressive regimes by American companies. Sponsored by Representative Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, the measure would prohibit the export of hardware and software that can be used to block and track communications sent over the Internet. In addition, it would require companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges to report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission how ... Read more

The U.S. China Commission today heard witnesses from the Office of U.S. Trade Representative and other experts who testified before the commission’s hearing “Ten Years in the WTO: Has China Kept Its Promises?” chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04). “As a member of the WTO, China has experienced tremendous economic growth and integration into the global economy, but China continues to massively violate the basic human rights of its own people and systematically undermine the rule of law,” said Smit... Read more

The wave of Internet censorship appearing in repressive regimes around the world and legislation introduced today—the Global Online Freedom Act (GOFA)—were the focus of a hearing held by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House panel that oversees international human rights. At the hearing of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights, Chairman Smith described the deteriorating state of freedom of political and religious speech online and the growing danger fo... Read more

Imprisoned Chinese human rights activist and 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo was remembered by a series of witnesses offering heartfelt testimony before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China this week to mark one year since Liu’s Dec. 10, 2010 award ceremony and to examine China’s ongoing crackdown against human rights advocates. Experts testifying at the hearing addressed the Nobel Laureate’s long history of human rights advocacy and the influence of the prestigious award wit... Read more

The fate of Chinese political prisoner and 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, who was nominated for the Nobel prize by Congressman Chris Smith with the support of other House members, was the focal point of powerful testimony by human rights leaders testifying before the U.S. China Commission Tuesday. “One year after the independent Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, who is a Chinese intellectual and democracy advocate, Liu remains isolated in a prison thousands ... Read more

The deadly international killer known as malaria was the target of a congressional hearing held today by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees global health issues. “For the last century, America has been a leader in the fight against malaria,” said Smith. “While the United States and several other countries have been able to eliminate malaria, this deadly disease still presents a serious challenge to other parts of our world.” Click here to wat... Read more

“Our work fighting anti-Semitism is far from done,” said Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), at a hearing in Washington today held by the U.S. Commission that oversees human rights in the 56 countries of the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Smith, the Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe also known as the Helsinki Commission said: “By most accounts, and thanks to the work of many courageous nongovernmental organizations, NGOs, the despicab... Read more