A comprehensive bill authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) to promote human rights and democracy in Ethiopia was approved today by the International Relations Committee. Read more

A bill to combat Internet abuse of democracy advocates and religious believers by repressive regimes cleared its first major hurdle to becoming law late this week when it was passed unanimously by a House foreign policy panel that oversees human rights. Read more

For the second time in just over a week, Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) convened a hearing on U.S. and global efforts to combat human trafficking. Smith, Chairman of House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations, teamed with Rep. John McHugh (R-NY), Chairman of House Subcommittee on Military Personnel, in a rare joint hearing to examine trafficking of women in areas where U.S. military is stationed. “Our need to examine this problem of human trafficking in the... Read more

At a standing room only hearing on Capitol Hill today, expert witnesses and lawmakers promised to "turn up the heat" on the thugs and pimps that profit off the horrific $9 billion international trafficking in persons industry. Read more

Remembering the thousands murdered, tortured, harassed and wrongfully imprisoned in China, the House of Representatives today passed three separate resolutions to honor the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, to condemn escalating levels of religious persecution in China, and to reject the state-sponsored, bogus ordination of “Catholic” leaders. Read more

On the opening day of the World Cup in Germany, Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees global human rights, introduced legislation calling on the Government of Germany to take immediate action to combat sexual trafficking in connection with the world class soccer championship. Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Vice-Chairman of the House International Relations Committee spoke today on the House floor defending the $10.8 million earmark for the U.S. contribution to the International Fund for Ireland (IFI). An amendment to eliminate the IFI earmark was offered by Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL), but then withdrawn during the debate. The $10.8 million earmark is now part of the Foreign Ops bill (Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs Appropriations Act, HR 5522) which passed the House and is now pending in the Senate. Below are excerpts of Rep. Smith’s remarks: Read more

U.S. Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations – was one of only two members of Congress to join the AFL-CIO in its filing of a Section 301 petition with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) supporting worker’s rights in China. Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the author of the historic Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and two subsequent anti-trafficking expansion laws (2003, 2005), released the following statement regarding the State Department’s 2006 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. The annual TIP report, a comprehensive assessment of global status of anti-trafficking measures, was mandated by Smith’s first trafficking bill, signed in October 2000 (Public Law 106-386): Read more

By a huge, bipartisan margin of 390-5, The House of Representatives today passed legislation introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) calling on the government of the United Kingdom to begin a full “independent public judicial” investigation into the murder of Northern Ireland defense attorney Pat Finucane. Read more