The following are excerpts of Chairman Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) opening statement at the House Foreign Affairs Africa and Western Hemisphere Subcommittees’ February 4th joint hearing, entitled “Defending Religious Freedom Around the World”: Congratulations and special thanks to Ambassador Sam Brownback and Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, co-chairs of the International Religious Freedom Summit just concluded here in Washington, for an extraordinarily powerful, comprehensive call to action for global relig... Read more

By Emily Hallas Published February 4, 2026 at 9:22 am The Pentagon revealed on Tuesday that a team of U.S. military forces is in Nigeria to combat terrorism in the African country. The development comes after President Donald Trump authorized strikes last December against ISIS terrorists in northwest Nigeria, amid concerns that the group, and other radicalized Islamist militias such as Boko Haram, are killing thousands of Christians. General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, head of the U.S. military’s Afri... Read more

Attacks on religious groups continue to rise in the United States and around the world, prompting renewed efforts to raise public awareness and strengthen the international religious freedom movement. As lawmakers and groups take action to raise awareness, a hearing was held by Congressman Chris Smith, a longtime religious freedom advocate. Capitol Hill correspondent Erik Rosales reports. The full interview can be viewed by clicking here. ### Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee, sat down with Tony Perkins on Washington Watch with Tony Perkins to discuss his recent congressional hearing, entitled “Defending Religious Freedom Around the World,” the U.S. deployment of troops to Nigeria, and addressing Christian persecution in Nigeria and China. The full interview can be viewed by clicking here. ### Read more

By Elise Winland Published February 4, 2026 U.S. Rep Chris Smith, R-N.J., warned Feb. 4 that religious persecution worldwide is a “festering and exploding” crisis that demands strong U.S. leadership. Smith, a Catholic who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, made the remarks during a congressional hearing titled “Defending Religious Freedom Around the World.” The hearing examined religious freedom violations in countries, including China, North Korea, Nigeria, and Tanzania, w... Read more

The following are excerpts of Co-Chairman Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) opening statement at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Committee’s February 3rd hearing—his eighth hearing chaired exclusively on Belarus—entitled “Human Rights in Belarus Today: Political Prisoners and the Ongoing Crackdown”: Today, we will examine the ongoing, brutal crackdown on democratic opposition—and indeed, on anyone suspected of sympathy for it, or for the freedom and independence of Belarus. We will also talk about political pri... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, issued the following statement in response to the Senate’s failure to invoke cloture on the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act: “I am extremely disappointed in my Senate colleagues’ failure to invoke cloture on and advance the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act, critical legislation that would have supported pregnant and parenting students seeking to complete their degrees. “This common-sense legislation would have required colleges ... Read more

On Tuesday, February 3rd, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) and author of the landmark Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 and multiple reauthorizations, will chair his eighth congressional hearing focused exclusively on the human rights crisis in Belarus. Since 2020, the government of Belarus—a dictatorship led by Alexander Lukashenko for more than 30 years—has been engaged in an ongoing crackdown on democratic opposition. Yet, even as this repressio... Read more

On Wednesday, February 4th, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, and Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, will chair a joint hearing on the current state of religious persecution throughout the globe and examine the United States’ efforts to defend and advance religious freedom worldwide. WHAT: Congressional hearing on the status of religious persecution throughout the globe, with a focus on Nigeria, China, Sudan, Syria... Read more

By Julian Pecquet Published January 28, 2026 at 12:00 pm (GMT +1) Washington is turning up the pressure on Rwanda as US President Donald Trump’s peace deal for the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo struggles to take hold on the ground. Six weeks after the Congolese and Rwandan presidents put their mutual animus on hold for a brief moment to sign the Washington Accords, US lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are threatening sanctions as they grow increasingly frustrated about the ongoing viol... Read more