NJ Congressman Smith to attend Noble Prize Ceremony

Congressman Chris Smith (NJ4) and outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi have announced that they plan to attend the ceremony awarding the Nobel Prize to Chinese human rights activist/prisoner of conscience Liu Xiaobo.

Let’s Pass the International Violence Against Women Act!

It looks like the House of Representatives is almost ready to move forward on the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA)! Amnesty International has been behind this legislation from the very start, along with a broad coalition of women’s groups, human rights organizations, humanitarian groups, and churches. It looks like the bill is going to be discussed and marked up later this month, and it is important that we get as many cosponsors onboard before that happens.

So far, New Jersey Congressmen Payne (District 10), Sires (District 13), and Holt (District 12) have signed on. Please thank them if you are one of their constituents.

If you live in another district, however, please call your representative’s office and urge him to cosponsor HR 4594, the International Violence Against Women Act. This legislation will coordinate our foreign policy efforts in the effort to end violence against women around the world, making them more efficient and effective.

It is especially important for you to call your representative if you live in districts 4 (Smith), 7 (Lance), or 11 (Frelinghuysen)!

Don’t know which district you live in? Go to www.house.gov and enter your zip code to get the name of your House Member and his office numbers!

Support NJ Representative Chris Smith’s Global Online Freedom of Information Act

I wanted to draw your attention to an action that listed in the May 2008 issue of Connect: supporting the Global Online Freedom Act of 2007. This legislation—which was introduced by New Jersey’s Chris Smith—would prevent U.S. internet companies from cooperating with repressive governments in their efforts to stifle freedom of expression.

Unfortunately, the need for this legislation is clearly demonstrated by the case of Shi Tao, a journalist who was sentenced to ten years after Yahoo! provided his identity to the Chinese government.

Please call the office of your House member and urge him to support H.R. 275, the Global Online Freedom Act of 2007. You can find the name and contact information for your House member by entering your zip code at www.house.gov.

Amnesty has also set up an online action on this issue.

Darfur Event with Congressman Chris Smith

As you know, Amnesty International greatly appreciates Congressman Chris Smith's strong record of leadership on the ongoing attrocities in Darfur. I am therefore happy to pass along the following information from his office.

(Note: Amnesty International has not taken a position on whether the human rights violations in Darfur constitute "genocide." It has, however, identified them as very serious crimes against humanity and war crimes that must end immediately.)

News Release
For Information Contact:
Office of Public Affairs April 10, 2007
Emily Weiss • 609.771.3066

Congressman Smith and a “Doctors Without Borders” Pediatrician Partner with TCNJ to Urge Advocacy on behalf of Darfur Genocide

EWING, NJ …The College of New Jersey will be hosting a free public forum on April 21st to raise awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and engage local communities to advocate for an end to the violence.

The free event—which will feature U.S. Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) and Doctors Without Borders pediatrician Dr. Jerry Ehrlich—will take place at 2 pm on April 21st in Forcina Hall 130, and is open to the public.

The genocide in Darfur, which began in 2003, has resulted in the deaths of as many as 400,000 people and the displacement of more than two million from their homes. Entire villages have been looted and destroyed, and countless men, women, and children have been murdered, abducted, raped or otherwise abused.

Last May, the Government of Sudan and the strongest faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement, one of the Darfur rebel groups, signed a peace accord. However, Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir’s resistance to a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur and the rejection of the accord by smaller Darfur rebel groups has prevented the peace process to take hold.

Congressman Smith, who has traveled to Sudan and met with President al-Bashir, will discuss U.S. efforts to end the violence and aid the people of Darfur. Smith—a graduate of The College of New Jersey (when it was Trenton State)—has represented the Fourth District of New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1981. During his tenure as Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations, Smith chaired numerous hearings on human rights abuses in Sudan that focused on the situation in Darfur and strongly advocated for the appointment of a Presidential Special Envoy to Sudan. He led debate on the House floor and managed the passage of a package of legislative initiatives aimed at stopping the genocide and bringing relief to the people of Sudan’s Darfur region. Smith currently serves as Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health.

Dr. Ehrlich, a volunteer with Doctors Without Borders, will share his work to help children in Darfur. Dr. Ehrlich has been a practicing pediatrician for 40 years. As a volunteer for Doctors Without Borders, he has been to many of the world’s trouble spots, including Sri Lanka and Darfur. While on these missions, he brought with him paper and crayons in order to document what the children have seen and experienced. His work in Sri Lanka was featured in a documentary titled “Rice and Honey.”

A Q&A session—as well as breakout sessions on fundraising, advocacy, and awareness campaigns—will follow the presentations by Congressman Smith and Dr. Ehrlich. Break-out advocacy sessions will take place in the Kidsbridge mini-museum of tolerance (also in Forcina Hall) which features exhibits on genocide, holocausts and Darfur.This program is jointly sponsored by TCNJ’s Bonner Center for Community and Civic Engagement, Kidsbridge Children’s Museum, Lutheran Social Ministries – Refugee Program and Congressman Smith’s office.

For more information, please contact Lynne Azarchi at 609.581.0239.

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Congressman Chris Smith Speaks on Annual State Department Reports

Congressman Chris Smith (NJ4) addressed the Foreign Affairs today on the subject of the annual State Department human rights reports. He paid special attention to the cases of China , Sudan/Darfur, and Vietnam . His comments also provided insight into the important role that Congress can play in promoting human rights through U.S. foreign policy. Congressman Smith reminds us, for example, “most of the major human rights efforts undertaken by the United States Government in recent decades . . . . were Congressional initiatives undertaken in the face of skepticism – and sometimes outright opposition – by the Executive branch.”

Read Excerpts from Congressman Christopher H. Smith’s Opening Statement.