Human rights abuses in Vietnam, including a new report to be issued tomorrow by human rights activists about the alleged use of systematic torture by law enforcement officials in the Vietnamese government upon its own citizens who have been arrested for exercising their basic human rights of freedom of expression, association, assembly, and religion, or for seeking political asylum abroad, will be the topic of a press conference Thursday by victims and human rights leaders. Police in Vietnam are... Read more

In observation of January 11, Human Trafficking Awareness Day, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) gave the following statement: Tomorrow, January 11, is Human Trafficking Awareness Day—a day on which we remember that more than 20 million human beings toil and suffer as slaves across the globe. A day to rededicate ourselves to creating an environment of zero tolerance for human trafficking in all its forms. When I first introduced the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 1998, the legislation was met... Read more

Efforts to create an African Economic Community to promote development and overcome poverty and weak economies—and to examine the potential benefits for Africa and the United States—were the subject of a hearing held Thursday by Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees U.S. policy in Africa. The African Union (AU) is in the midst of creating an African Economic Community through the eventual merging of existing Regional Economic Communities. U.S. p... Read more

Manasquan Borough has been awarded a $4 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help pay for clean-up costs from Superstorm Sandy. “I was in Manasquan in the aftermath of the storm with Mayor Dempsey and it was a scene of destruction—crumbled homes, wrecked businesses and impassable streets everywhere,” Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) said. “This funding is critical. No small town like Manasquan Borough can absorb these costs without help from the federal government.” “I am... Read more

By: Katie Zezima and Samantha Henry Associated Press EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Law enforcement agents in New Jersey have redoubled efforts to fight what they worry could be one of the biggest menaces to come with next month's Super Bowl: sex trafficking. Hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to descend on New Jersey for the Feb. 2 football game. Many believe the state's sprawling highway system, proximity to New York City and diverse population make it an attractive base of operati... Read more

SEAN GOLDMAN was 4 years old when his Brazilian-born mother took him from their New Jersey home for what Sean’s father, David Goldman, thought would be a two-week vacation. Five years passed before the father again laid eyes on his son. “It was very painful,’’ David Goldman recalled. “The first time I saw him after nearly five years, he looked at me and asked me where have I been all this time. . . . He was told that I didn’t love him, that I abandoned him, that I never wanted him.” The only unu... Read more

By Sherrina Navani, The Trentonian - All Bindu Philips wants for Christmas are her two young sons back, and thanks to a new bill passed by the House of Representatives, she may be closer than ever to getting her wish granted. Members of the House voted unanimously, in early December, to pass a bill to help bring home American children abducted to overseas destinations. The legislation, dubbed, the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 2013, will help l... Read more

The expanding fighting in the Republic of South Sudan has killed more than 500 people in recent days and injured four U.S. military personnel who were evacuating Americans and other foreigners from the country. The conflict endangers not only citizens of that country but threatens to negatively impact the country’s neighbors and the international community, said Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Org... Read more

By Susanne Cervenka, Asbury Park Press staff -- It could be another Christmas surprise for David Goldman, the former Tinton Falls man whose son, Sean, was returned to him on Christmas Eve four years ago. This time, the gift would be the passage of a law named for Goldman and his son that would help other families whose children have been kidnapped to foreign countries. After three years of negotiations, the “Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act” is head... Read more

Given David Goldman's well-chronicled five-year ordeal to be reunited with his son, who was abducted and taken to Brazil by his mother, it might seem odd to call him lucky. But considering how difficult it is for parents whose children were taken from them by a spouse or other family member to another country to succeed in having them returned, he is lucky indeed. Despite a 1980 international treaty that prohibits parents from fleeing to other countries until custody is decided, Sean is among a ... Read more