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Washington, D.C.—Following its hosting of a delegation of administrators and students from Central European University (CEU), Human Rights First today urged the Trump Administration and Congress to protect academic freedom and oppose the government of Hungary’s attempt to shutter the university.
President Trump’s speech at the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh on May 21 was rich in generalities and open to broad interpretation. For example, the president promised to advance “security through stabili
Washington, D.C.—Human Rights First praised the House of Representatives, and in particular the Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Anti-Semitism, for unanimously passing the Combating European Anti-Semitism Act of 2017 on Thursday. The bill is a significant bipartisan effort to address the serious and dangerous problem of antisemitism in Europe.
Yesterday, in The New York Times, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) penned an eloquent and movin
New York City—Human Rights First today called on Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley to maintain U.S. presence on the United Nations’ Human Rights Council and to increase efforts to improve the Council’s membership. The call came in a letter from the organization along with seven other leading human rights organizations, in advance of the upcoming 35th session of the body set to begin on June 6th.
Washington, D.C.—Human Rights First today condemned the Russian government’s claim that it has concluded its investigation of human rights abuses in Chechnya and found no evidence of mass detention and torture of gay and bisexual men, and called for a new inquiry that will take the crisis seriously.
Washington, D.C.—In response to reports that Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant and senior counter-terrorism advisor to President Trump, will be reassigned from his White House role, Human Rights First’s Rob Berschinski, former deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor, issued the following statement:
Washington, D.C.—Human Rights First today welcomed comments from State Department officials calling on the Russian government to independently investigate the recent murders and mass arrests of gay men in Chechnya, and calls on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to urge Russia to hold the perpetrators of the assault on the Chechen lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community accountable during his upcoming with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on April 12. The State Department spokesman made the comment in response to a&n
Monday, April 10, 2017 – 1:01pmGerman Social Media Law Threatens Free SpeechErika AsgeirssonOn Wednesday, the German cabinet approved a draft law that would fine social media companies for failing to remove hate speech and other content th
Read moreWashington, D.C.—Human Rights First today expressed alarm over reports that the Trump Administration may not fill the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism position and plans to eliminate the staff positions of that office. The office, when filled and fully staffed, performs critical work documenting and preventing bias-motivated violations against Jewish communities. Human Rights First calls on President Trump to immediately appoint a new special envoy and maintain the office’s support staff and funding.