By Nick Mordowanec Published March 16, 2026 at 5:00 AM EDT Dr. Gulshan Abbas, 63, a retired physician and ethnic Uyghur, was disappeared by Chinese authorities in September 2018 in China’s western region of Xinjiang, after her sister, Rushan Abbas, publicly spoke out against the Chinese Communist Party’s oppression of Uyghurs. Gulshan’s family was unaware of her whereabouts until December 2020, when it was learned that a secret trial had taken place in March 2019 declaring Gulshan guilty for “ta... Read more

Corporal Leo Perlmutter Fifty-eight years ago, U.S. Marine Corporal Leo Perlmutter did not know what hit him. He was in one of the battles in the Tet Offensive, launched by North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against the U.S. and Vietnamese forces in January of 1968. Enemy mortar rounds were coming in all around, and one struck close to his position. “I didn’t even know I was hit,” Perlmutter said. “A medic came to treat me. I was bleeding from the head from shrapnel.” He qualified for the Purple H... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, issued the following statement in response to the horrific antisemitic attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan: “My wife, Marie, and I are absolutely appalled by this barbaric act of violence directly targeting American Jews and their fundamental right of freedom of religion. “Antisemitic violence has no place in the United States—or anywhere else on the planet—and we must remain vigila... Read more

By Roger A. Agana Published March 11, 2026 A senior United States congressman has called on Washington to deploy every diplomatic and economic tool available after a landmark federal commission flagged 18 countries as the world’s most severe violators of religious freedom. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its 2026 Annual Report on March 4, documenting violations throughout 2025 and setting out policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State... Read more

“The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)’s 2026 Annual Report is a sobering reminder that millions of people around the world still face imprisonment, violence, and discrimination simply because of their faith,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)—a longtime defender of religious liberty—upon the release of USCIRF’s 21st Annual Report, led by USCIRF Chairwoman Vicky Hartzler. The report evaluates the religious freedom conditions in dozens of countries and makes recommendations ... Read more

The following are excerpts of Co-Chairman Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) opening statement at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission’s March 5th hearing, entitled “U.S. Presidency of the G20–An Opportunity to Champion Human Rights”: Good afternoon and welcome to everyone joining us today for this important hearing on the U.S. Presidency of the G20. I’d particularly like to recognize and welcome several Romanian parliamentary deputies who are here with us today. As the United States assumes the 2026 Presi... Read more

By News Ghana Published March 5, 2026 A bipartisan congressional commission held a hearing in Washington on Thursday calling on the Trump administration to use its 2026 Group of Twenty (G20) presidency to champion religious freedom and free speech, with particular focus on the mass killing of Christians in Nigeria and the growing threat of state-sponsored censorship globally. The hearing, convened by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, explored how the Trump administration can elevate human ... Read more

By Kate Scanlon Published March 5, 2026 at 7:54 PM WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The U.S. presidency of the Group of 20, a forum for cooperation among the world’s largest economies, is an opportunity to advance human rights, advocates said at a congressional hearing March 5. The U.S. assumed the rotating presidency of the forum, sometimes called the G20, in December. The 2026 summit is scheduled to be held in Miami in December. Reps. Chris Smith, R-N.J. and Jim McGovern, D-Mass., both Catholics and co... Read more

The following are excerpts of remarks delivered by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), author of the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 and four additional anti-human trafficking laws, for the NJ Coalition Against Human Trafficking's 2026 Law Enforcement Conference in Eatontown, NJ: Special thanks to every survivor-leader, law enforcement officer, prosecutor, service provider, and expert for your commitment to ending the scourge of human trafficking. I especially want to recognize ... Read more

On Wednesday, March 4, 2026, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, delivered the following remarks on the House floor on Iran: Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, for far too long, Iran has held the world hostage with its nuclear threats, unbridled violence and hate, pervasive use of torture and rape, and Nazi-like anti-Semitism. Iran is the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism. All diplomatic initiatives to se... Read more