The long-awaited verdict handed down today to former Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), prompted U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and chairman of the House Global Human Rights Subcommittee, to issue the following statement: “Once again, ICTY has proved its worth. It has provided justice regarding horrific atrocities which occurred in Bosnia and Herze... Read more

Fighting to ensure that this year’s annual Trafficking In Persons report (TIP) is not plagued by the same political manipulations that tarnished the widely-condemned 2015 publication, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, chairman of the house panel that oversees human rights, convened a hearing today highlighting the problems in the last report and hearing from experts about problem countries that should not be glossed over again this year. “The State Department must get the TIP Report right, or we will lose ... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), a longtime advocate of human rights in Cuba, today said he is concerned that President Obama, with his trip to Cuba and his decision to embrace the Raul and Fidel Castro regime, will continue to make human rights victims a low priority. Cubans have endured decades of human rights abuses at the hands of the Castros, who have harbored U.S. fugitives and stymied U.S. law enforcement efforts to extradite Joanne Chesimard, the convicted murderer of New Jersey State Tr... Read more

“The wide-reaching impact of the Court's ruling in the case of the Little Sisters of the Poor cannot be overstated,” said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), in anticipation of Wednesday’s oral arguments before the Supreme Court in a landmark case for religious liberty (Zubik v. Burwell). “The question before the Court is really quite simple: Can the government coerce the Little Sisters of the Poor and other people of faith to violate their conscience?” Smith asked. “The Obama administration is telli... Read more

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is fighting to protect innocent victims of Superstorm Sandy from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) attempts to 'clawback,' or take back, millions of dollars in disaster aid, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), who represents the hard hit areas of Monmouth and Ocean Counties. In letters written by Smith and co-signed by Democratic-lead Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (NY-05) and 21 others, the lawmakers are urging the House Appropriations subcommittees of juri... Read more

After the controversy of the U.S. State Department’s 2015 trafficking report—its main instrument to combat human trafficking—the soon-to-be-released 2016 report will be the topic of a hearing planned by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees global human rights issues. Smith is the author of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, a law which mandates the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. “Get It Right This Time: A Vict... Read more

In response to Secretary Kerry’s genocide designation of the atrocities committed by ISIS against Christians, Yezidis and others, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, chairman of the House panel that oversees global human rights, called on the Obama administration to work aggressively with the United Nations Security Council to create an effective tribunal to bring about justice for the victims of the genocide: Rep. Chris Smith said, “Secretary of State John Kerry today (March 17) designated the ISIS slaughte... Read more

USA TODAY - The Islamic State is committing genocide against Christians and other religious minorities in Syria and Iraq, Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday in an announcement likely to have little impact on the U.S. military effort against the militant group. The designation, however, could be a first step toward war crimes trials, supporters said. The U.S. House passed a resolution similar to Kerry's declaration in a unanimous vote Monday. Religious groups in the U.S. have been pressu... Read more

(ASSOCIATED PRESS) By MATTHEW LEE and RICHARD LARDNER Ratcheting up the pressure on the Obama administration, the House has overwhelmingly approved a resolution that condemns as genocide the atrocities committed by the Islamic State group against Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria. The non-binding measure, passed Monday by a vote of 393-0, illustrated the heavy bipartisan support for action on Capitol Hill. Secretary of State John Kerry is leaning toward maki... Read more

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) joined House Republican Leadership, including Speaker Paul Ryan, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and GOP Conference Chairwoman Kathy McMorris Rodgers, at press conference today on two bipartisan House resolutions passed last night, including Smith's own HConRes. 121 calling for a Syrian War Crimes Tribunal at the U.N. and another about the ongoing genocide of Christians and other minority groups in Syria and Iraq at the hands of the terrorist group ISIS. Smith gave th... Read more