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

By STEVE STECKLOW A bill that would restrict U.S. exports of technology that can be used by repressive regimes to censor the Internet or conduct surveillance on users will be introduced in the House soon. The sponsor, Rep. Chris Smith (R., N.J.), said the proposed legislation is in response to reports that some governments have used American products to crack down on dissidents. "How will all these dictatorships ever matriculate into democracy if the dissenters...are all in prison, hunted down w... Read more

“You need two things for a dictatorship to survive — propaganda and secret police,” said Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.), in an interview with the Washington Post about his proposed bills to restrict the sale of surveillance technology overseas. “Both of those are enabled in a huge way by the high-tech companies involved.” The Washington Post article: By Sari Horwitz, Shyamantha Asokan and Julie Tate Northern Virginia technology entrepreneur Jerry Lucas hosted his first trade show for makers ... Read more