Human rights

09 April 2008 -- Democratic Party leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have announced plans to indefinitely postpone action on a free trade pact the Bush administration negotiated with Colombia.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says now is not the time for a vote on the Colombian free trade deal.

Protesters against the Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Photo by b.wu (CC)

She says she is asking House members to change the rules for consideration of trade pacts in this particular case, and remove the requirement for action within 90 days.    » read more »

April 8, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today regarding the Olympic torch relay’s planned route tomorrow through the City of San Francisco, the only city in North America to host the torch:

“The Olympic Charter states that the goal of the Olympic games should be to promote ‘a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.’

Tibet protesters during Olympic torch relay, Paris: Photo by Siobhán Silke (CC)    » read more »

Call for Talks between China and His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

April 7, 2008 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) today led a bipartisan group of Senators that introduced a resolution condemning the violence in Tibet. The resolution also calls on China to open substantive dialogue with His Holiness, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet.

The Dalai Lama: Photo by Ferne Millen (CC)    » read more »

April 2, 2008 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, together with Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), today led a bipartisan group of 27 Senators in sending a letter calling on Chinese President Hu Jintao to bring about a timely, peaceful resolution to the current crisis in Tibet and to respect the human rights of the Tibetan people.

Tibetan monk: Photo by Jerrold Bennett (CC)    » read more »

31 March 2008 -- Liu Jingmin, Vice-President of the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee, said in 2001 that allowing Beijing to host the Games would “help the development of human rights". Seven years on, China’s human rights record shows little sign of improvement, according to an Amnesty International report.

Beijing National Stadium, "The Bird's Nest", built for the 2008 Summer Olympics: Photo by Ming Xia (CC)    » read more »

Geneva, April 1, 2008 – The Ethics Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) should articulate human rights standards for host countries to end the moral void in which it operates, Human Rights Watch said in a letter released today. The IOC, which is scheduled to hold meetings in Beijing from April 1 to April 12, has refused to publicly articulate concerns about the human rights situation in China.

The refusal of the IOC to dissociate itself from the abuses directly linked to the preparation of the Beijing Games is undermining human rights in China and flouting the spirit and the letter of the Olympic Charter, Human Rights Watch said.    » read more »

March 28, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today sent the following letter to President Bush, calling on him to employ every diplomatic tool to persuade Chinese President Hu Jintao to make significant progress in resolving the Tibet issue. Given the recent events in Tibet and the upcoming Beijing Olympics,    » read more »

March 19, 2008 -- Washington, DC – In a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), His Holiness the Dalai Lama today commented on the current crisis in Tibet and indicated that he believes the best way forward to resolve the issue is through dialogue.

This letter comes in response to a statement by Senator Feinstein which called for an end to the Chinese crackdown and for personal talks between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese Leadership.

Dalai Lama Receiving the Congressional Gold Medal, October 2007

Feinstein’s statement follows:

“A wave of protests has swept across Tibet, and these protests have been met with violence and a crackdown by the Chinese.    » read more »

17 March 2008 -- Five years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, officials say the situation in the country has vastly improved - if only in the last year. But human rights organizations say abuses are widespread, and most Iraqis still lack access to basic services. Moreover, there are concerns about how permanent recent security gains will be.

The U.S. military says a surge in U.S. and Iraqi troops, cooperation with Sunni militias, and a cease-fire by a large Shi'ite militia have brought security improvements to broad areas of Iraq.    » read more »

March 8, 2008 -- Today, President Bush vetoed an intelligence bill because he opposed a provision in it that would ban the use of torture, such as waterboarding, even though a majority--58 percent--of Americans oppose the technique. A vocal opponent of the Bush Administration's use of torture in the past, John McCain has again changed his position and his principles and voted against the same provision last month in an attempt to cozy up to the right wing of the Republican Party. [CNN Political Ticker, 11/6/07; Washington Post, 2/14/2008]    » read more »

Washington, Feb. 26, 2008 — U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez and Czech Republic Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek met to discuss bilateral trade. Following the meeting they held a press conference to highlight the plight of the Cuban people, with whom the Czech people stand in solidarity as a nation that has made a successful transition from what Gutierrez called the “tyranny of communism” to democracy. Gutierrez is pictured giving Topolanek a bracelet imprinted with the Spanish word for change, “cambio,” which are worn in solidarity with the Cuban people.    » read more »

Death Penalty in Flawed Military Commissions Should Not Be an Option

Washington, DC, February 11, 2008 – The trials of six Guantanamo detainees being charged for their role in the September 11, 2001 attacks should be moved from the Guantanamo military commissions to US federal courts, Human Rights Watch said today.    » read more »

11 February 2008 -- The U.S. Congress has lost one of its strongest voices on international human rights issues. Tom Lantos, a California Democrat who headed the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, died of cancer Monday.

Whether he was speaking about military dictatorship in Burma, the Israel-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East, genocide in Darfur, or Iranian nuclear ambitions, Tom Lantos never pulled punches.    » read more »

Nebraska Ruling Brings US Closer to Ending This Inhumane Form of Execution in US

New York, February 8, 2008 – The Nebraska Supreme Court’s ruling today that use of the electric chair violates the state constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment is an important step toward eliminating inherently inhumane executions in the United States, Human Rights Watch said today.

Nebraska is the only state to use the electric chair as its sole method of execution; all other US death penalty jurisdictions use lethal injection.    » read more »

February 8, 2008 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today urged the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Michael McConnell to provide the transcript of a recent interview with New Yorker writer Lawrence Wright. At issue is the exact conversation held between Director McConnell and Wright over the subject of waterboarding. Senator Feinstein questioned Director McConnell about this exchange during the open Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday.

Following is the text of the letter sent by Senator Feinstein to DNI McConnell:    » read more »