(AFP) – July 28, 2011 The United States pressed Japan to let parents see children snatched by estranged partners, saying it would not tolerate loopholes as Tokyo moves to resolve the longtime source of tension. Western nations have voiced concern for years over citizens' struggles to see their half-Japanese children. When international marriages break up, Japanese courts virtually never grant custody to foreign parents, especially men. Hoping to ease a rift with allies, Prime Minister Naoto Kan ... Read more

At a congressional hearing Thursday, the U.S. State Department will reveal its efforts to return to the U.S. more than 2,400 abducted American children and enforce the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The hearing, to be held by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees international human rights, follows the emotional testimony at a May hearing of distraught ‘left-behind’ parents, who in most cases have never s... Read more

The fate of more than 2,400 abducted American children was the emotional topic at a congressional hearing today held by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees international human rights. Top officials of the U.S. State Department explained U.S. administration efforts to return the children to the U.S. A heavy emphasis was placed on Japan, which is not one of the 85 signatory nations of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Ch... Read more

The many daunting challenges facing the African continent and U.S. foreign policy were the topics of a congressional hearing held today by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees U.S. policy in Africa and international human rights. Smith chaired a hearing of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights called “Coordinating Africa Policy on Security, Counterterrorism, Humanitarian Operations and Development.” He noted that despite t... Read more

The deplorable condition of human rights in Vietnam are addressed in an amendment approved by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs July 21. Offered by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House Subcommittee that oversees human rights issues, the measure has been included in H.R. 2583, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, and now moves to the House floor. “This amendment seeks to take meaningful action to finally overcome the serious human rights abuses suffer... Read more

By Erin Duffy/The Times, Trenton In its nymph stage, the black-legged tick, or deer tick, is no bigger than a poppy seed. By adulthood, that little black dot increases only to the size of a sesame seed. It may be tiny, but this miniscule arachnid can pack a punch, infecting everyone from children to senior citizens, with Lyme disease. Active especially in spring and summer, the specter of this tiny disease vector frequently haunts parents, rural dwellers, gardeners — anyone, really, who spends ... Read more

An amendment about the future of democracy in the Russian Federation that was offered by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House panel that addresses global human rights, was unanimously approved by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Thursday. The measure has been included in H.R. 2583, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, and now moves to the House floor. To read the Smith amendment on Russian human rights, click here. Russia is set to hold parliamentar... Read more

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs last night approved an amendment calling for the appointment of a U.S. Special Envoy to help lead U.S. efforts to address the intense human suffering in the Great Lakes Region of Africa in such areas as eastern Congo and northern Uganda. Offered by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), the Chairman of the Africa, Global Health and Human Rights Subcommittee, the amendment is an attempt to prod President Obama to fill the position outlined in a law he wrote as Senat... Read more

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday approved an amendment calling for the release of blind human rights activist Chen Guangcheng, who has been persecuted relentlessly by the Chinese government. It calls on the President and the Secretary of State to “actively and repeatedly seek diplomatic visits to Chen Guangcheng and his family,” and “raise the issue of harassed, arrested, disappeared, and disbarred human rights lawyers and defenders” with the Chinese government. “Chen remains u... Read more

Human rights abuses against the Coptic Christian community in Egypt was the topic of a hearing held by Rep. Chris Smith on Friday, July 22. Focusing on the question of what is happening to the Coptic Christians in Egypt in the new country that is emerging from the revolution this spring, Rep. Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of both the Helsinki Commission and the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights, said: “Early signs are discouraging: there has been escalation in viol... Read more