At a congressional hearing chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today, two renowned journalists and a top tech executive shared extensive evidence of widespread censorship and persecution in Brazil used to stifle opposition to President Lula, raising alarming concerns over the future of democracy and rule of law in the largest country in Latin America. “Since late 2022, Brazilians have been subject to human rights violations committed by Brazilian officials on a large scale,” said Rep. Smith, the... Read more

In advance of chairing a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chair of the House Global Human Rights Subcommittee, has penned a letter to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) requesting information on serious allegations of human rights violations in Brazil. “The Subcommittee has been informed of serious allegations of human rights violations committed by Brazilian officials on a large scale,” Smith wrote to IACHR President Roberta Clarke and the Special R... Read more

In a phone call with Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway today, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) raised his concerns over the University’s reply to the ten demands issued by the encampment organizers in order to end the antisemitic, anti-Israel, pro-Hamas protests on its New Brunswick campus. “While we had a productive conversation, I continue to have deep concerns about Rutgers’ recent action given their egregious history of antisemitism and its failure to protect Jewish students,” said Smith. “I look ... Read more

In response to Rutgers University’s announced “resolution,” Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) today asked whether the school administration’s reply to the ten demands issued by the encampment organizers amounted to appeasement of antisemitic, anti-Israel, pro-Hamas protesters. Included among their most egregious demands, the protesters ordered Rutgers to: · “Divest from any firm or corporation materially participating in, benefitting from, or otherwise supporting the state of Israel’s settler col... Read more

U.S. Congressman Chris Smith, Chair of the House Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, today issued the following statement on President Boakai’s executive order to establish the War Crimes and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia: “President Boakai’s signing of the Executive Order to establish the Office of War Crimes and Economic Crimes Court is a welcomed and momentous step in redressing the wounds of the country’s civil wars. This historic moment h... Read more

The following are excerpts of remarks by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the House Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, during today’s debate on the House Floor on the Antisemitism Awareness Act (HR 6090)—legislation aimed at combating antisemitism on college campuses: “Forty-two years ago, my first human rights trip as a congressman was to the Soviet Union to defend Jews against pernicious antisemitism. I never thought, however, that the antisemitic hate I saw in Moscow and Leningrad co... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the Dean of the New Jersey Congressional Delegation, delivered the following remarks today on the House Floor while leading the House of Representatives in a moment of silence to honor the late Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ): “Mr. Speaker, my colleagues and I rise to convey our deepest sorrow on the passing of our good friend, six-term New Jersey Congressman Donald Payne Jr. of the 10th District. We are grateful for his public service and offer our prayers and condolences... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chair of the House Global Human Rights and International Organizations Subcommittee, called the recently released report on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) “an absolute whitewash aimed at covering up the antisemitism, violence and hate that has poisoned the agency for decades.” Smith, the author of legislation to ban US funding for UNRWA, said “the grotesque flaws in the report further underscore how UNRWA apologists have operated with impunity over t... Read more

Jerry Carino - Asbury Park Press Staff Writer In early 2022, longtime Wall High School art teacher Jill Alexander shipped four of her oil paintings to an exhibit in Denver with a bit of trepidation. She’d created the works — scenes from Cuba inspired by travel there — in the presence of her ailing mother; they lived together in Wall and Jill was her caregiver. “It was uplifting for her when there wasn’t a whole lot to be uplifted about,” Jill Alexander said. Carol Alexander died of bone-marrow c... Read more

New legislation (HR 8125) introduced this week by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) would rename the address of the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office in Washington, DC as 1 Jimmy Lai Way in honor of the renowned Hong Kong human rights defender who remains unjustly imprisoned by Hong Kong authorities. A 76-year-old democracy advocate and media entrepreneur, Lai has been incarcerated since December 2020 on multiple fabricated charges and is currently serving a sentence of almost six ye... Read more