The unknown condition of Chen Guangcheng, a blind human rights lawyer being oppressed by the Chinese government, was the topic of an emergency hearing of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China this afternoon. “As we sit here in this room today, free to meet, free to move, and free to speak our minds, we are convening to examine the plight of an extraordinarily brave man, and his equally courageous wife, who in every sense of the word is not free and at grave risk,” said Commission Chair... Read more

The Obama Administration’s decision to grant China a political waiver and India an upgrade in this year’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report issued by the State Department were questioned by the lawmaker who wrote the first-ever U.S. law to combat trafficking in 2000—the same law which also created the annual report and its ranking system (Public Law 106-386). A hearing held by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), author of the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) as we... Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The atrocious human rights record of the North Korean dictatorship—among the very worst in the world— was described in grisly detail by prison survivors and human rights workers who detailed inhumane gulag-style prison camps, human trafficking, torture, political repression and religious persecution at a congressional hearing Tuesday held by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House panel that oversees human rights. North Korea’s dictatorship, now headed by Kim J... Read more

The growing humanitarian crisis threatening millions of people in East Africa, including drought and the delivery of humanitarian aid in the face of terrorist movements, was the focus of a congressional hearing today held by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees international human rights and African issues. The hearing, entitled “USAID's Long-Term Strategy for Addressing East African Emergencies,” examined U.S. strategy to address humanitarian ... 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 failed nation state of Somalia, whose people are plagued with drought, civil conflict, health crises, pirates and terrorists, was the focus of a joint congressional hearing by the House Africa, Global Health and Human Rights Subcommittee chaired by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), and the Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade Subcommittee chaired by Rep. Ed Royce (CA-40). The hearing, entitled “Assessing the Consequences of the Failed State of Somalia,” featured expert testimony from the U.... Read more

The dreaded disease that has stricken millions of suffering victims, threatens millions more and could exact a projected financial cost of over $1 trillion a year by 2050 was the topic of the first ever congressional hearing on the U.S. and global crisis of Alzheimer’s disease. “We seem to be at a precipice now of making great strides on several different fronts,” said Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), the chairman of the House subcommittee which oversees global health issues, who with Rep. Edwar... Read more

The newly-created nation of the Republic of Southern Sudan and the sobering threats to both peace and the hopes for an end to suffering were the focus of a hearing Thursday held by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights. “We are nearly on the eve of independence for Southern Sudan, yet many issues remain unresolved,” said Chairman Smith, a senior member on the Foreign Affairs Committee. “There is the undefined border, citizensh... Read more

The oppression of religion around the world and U.S. policy to address challenges to this basic human right was the focus of a hearing held today by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees international human rights. “Prioritizing International Religious Freedom in U.S. Foreign Policy,” is the title of the hearing, which featured expert testimony on the global challenges to freedom of religion before the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and ... Read more

The voices of heartbroken but hopeful ‘left behind parents’ longing to be reunited with their abducted children echoed in a congressional hearing today chaired by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees international human rights. There are more than 2,400 American children held wrongfully overseas. “International child abduction rips children from their homes and lives, taking them to a foreign land and alienating them from a left behind parent w... Read more