*EPF104 03/26/01
Backgrounder: The Congressional Human Rights Caucus
(Focusing awareness of global violations on Capitol Hill) (930)
By Stuart Gorin
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Where human rights are concerned, there is no such thing as partisanship on Capitol Hill.

For the past 18 years, the bipartisan Congressional Human Rights Caucus has been actively involved in focusing public awareness on global human rights violations.

A joint statement by the caucus' co-founders, Democratic Congressman Tom Lantos of California and retired Republican Congressman John Porter of Illinois, says "Human rights are America's legacy to the world. As the cornerstone of our democratic system, the U.S. Congress must have its own voice to advance and defend these ideals all over the world."

To carry out this mission, the caucus holds one or two public briefings with outside witnesses nearly every week, conducts workshops for congressional staff members and coordinates "Dear Colleague" letters to inform members of Congress about current events.

In the most recent public briefing, caucus members heard four Colombian provincial governors discuss counter-narcotics operations in their country. During other events, Queen Noor of Jordan and landmine survivors discussed current programs and aid to individuals injured by landmines, and there were separate discussions on a global ban on the use of child soldiers, the political situation in Togo with that country's then-Prime Minister Eugene Adoboli, and alleged human rights violations in Laos.

Other recent briefings specifically for caucus members and staff were held with outgoing U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson on the upcoming U.N. World Conference Against Racism, with Cambodian opposition leader and parliamentarian Sam Rainsy on political developments and human rights abuses in his nation, and with journalist Carolyn Robinson on the latest developments in East Timor.

In its "Dear Colleague" letter series, the caucus asks members of Congress for their support on a wide variety of issues, most recently to request Burma's leaders to release three educators imprisoned because of their political beliefs. Other recent letters asked for support to co-sponsor a resolution opposing China's bid to host the 2008 Olympics unless the Beijing government releases all of its political prisoners and observes internationally recognized human rights standards, and to co-sign letters to Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan expressing concern over the kidnapping of several Israelis by Hezbollah guerrillas.

The caucus also provides support for the House International Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights.

It is the largest caucus in Congress, and its membership grows continually. During the last session, which ended in 2000, there were 285 legislators involved in varying degrees of activity.

Lantos, who remains a co-chairman of the caucus, is a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor once imprisoned by the Nazis. Focusing on foreign policy in the House of Representatives, he denounced human rights violations in both Communist regimes and right-wing dictatorships.

Porter became interested in the subject after observing first hand the human rights abuses occurring in the former Soviet Union. Upon Porter's retirement this past year, Republican Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia became the caucus' new co-chair.

During his own congressional career, Wolf has traveled to and spoken with human rights victims in El Salvador, Romania, Sudan, Tibet, East Timor and Sierra Leone, and is, in the words of Porter, "well prepared to carry on the mission" of the caucus.

While the Human Rights Caucus does not carry out actual field investigations of alleged cases of human rights violations, leaving that work to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), it does facilitate bringing NGOs together and presenting their information to the attention of the caucus members.

There is no budget for the caucus to do its work. In 1994 its status was changed to that of a membership organization, and under federal guidelines it cannot accept any funds or equipment from outside organizations. So even its co-directors fulfill their responsibilities on a part-time basis while working on the congressional staffs of their respective chairmen.

The caucus' staff workshops -- held during times when Congress is in recess -- provide Capitol Hill staff members with such basics as what comprises human rights law, what is a refugee, etc., says Hans Hogrefe, the Democratic co-director.

In addition to highly publicized situations, the caucus also looks into areas which the media have not covered, Hogrefe says, adding that while they may be country specific in some cases, the caucus is more issue oriented than country oriented in its work. "If it is in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, then we cover it," he adds.

Referring to a past "success" story, Hogrefe says the caucus in the 1980s brought before Congress the Dalai Lama who, as a spokesman for religious freedom, today is a media "star" very much in demand.

During the current congressional session, he says, upcoming briefings will cover such topics as child labor, women's rights, and disability as a human right.

Additional work for the Caucus this year will concern religious persecution around the world and issues raised in the State Department's annual Human Rights Report, says Brett Dody, Hogrefe's Republican counterpart in Wolf's office.

Dody points out that there are "lots of issues" in the report that will keep them busy -- educating the caucus members and their staffs and also holding public briefings. By providing a forum for human rights victims and other witnesses, he adds, the Congressional Human Rights Caucus is a "voice for the voiceless."

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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