Katrina Lantos Swett Elected USCIRF Chair

We are proud to announce that Katrina Lantos Swett has been elected Chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

USCIRF Press Release -

WASHINGTON, D.C – Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, was elected on Wednesday June 6 as Chair of the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).  Dr. Swett was appointed to the Commission in March 2012 by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and is serving her first term.

 “I’m honored to serve as chair of USCIRF and to work alongside my fellow commissioners in the struggle to guarantee religious freedom for all,” said Dr. Swett. “This Commission has accomplished much, but much is left to be done.  We will continue to work with Congress and the Executive Branch, to ensure that this basic human right is a fully integrated component of U.S. foreign, economic and national security policies.” 

 As the President of the Lantos Foundation, which was founded in 2008, Dr. Swett works to carry on the human rights legacy of her father, the late Representative Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress. Dr. Lantos Swett teaches human rights and American foreign policy at Tufts University.  She also served as Deputy Counsel to the Criminal Justice Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee for then-Senator Joe Biden. 

 Also on June 6, two USCIRF Commissioners were elected Vice-Chairs: The Reverend William J. Shaw, Pastor of the White Rock Baptist Church in Philadelphia, and Mary Ann Glendon, the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard University and President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

Rev. Shaw was appointed to the Commission in May 2012 by President Obama and is serving his second term.  He is past President of the National Baptist Convention, the largest African American religious organization in the United States. He currently chairs the Board of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and has served as President of The Baptist Ministers’ Conference of Philadelphia and Vicinity, The Metropolitan Christian Council of Philadelphia, and the Union Theological Seminary National Alumni Association.  From 1981 through 1994, he served as Director of the Ministers’ Division of the National Congress of Christian Education.

 Professor Glendon, appointed to USCIRF by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in May 2012, is serving her first term on the Commission.  She is the former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.  Professor Glendon writes and teaches in the fields of human rights, comparative law, constitutional law, and political theory, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1991, the International Academy of Comparative Law, and a past president of the UNESCO-sponsored International Association of Legal Science.  She served two terms as a member of the U.S. President's Council on Bioethics (2001-2004), and has represented the Holy See at various conferences including the 1995 U.N. Women's conference in Beijing where she headed the Vatican delegation.

Also serving on the Commission are Elliott Abrams, Dr. Azizah al-Hibri, Sam Gejdenson,  Dr. Robert P. George, and Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser.

USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in the Senate and House of Representatives. USCIRF’s principal responsibilities are to review the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom internationally and to make policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress.

Lantos Foundation Statement on Discrimination by Turkish Airlines

The recently announced partnership between the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice and the Roosevelt Institute to re-establish the FDR International Disability Rights Award (FDRIDRA) is intended to raise awareness of the needs and rights of persons with disabilities. The recent experience of FDRIDRA Advisory Board Member Kersen DeJong onboard Turkish Airlines tangibly demonstrates the vital need for greater support and understanding this Award is meant to encourage.

When Mr. DeJong boarded a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Amsterdam this past week, he was refused a seat that would accommodate his disability: two artificial legs. After being denied both bulkhead seating and an aisle seat, he was forced to separate his artificial legs from his upper body and drag himself to his seat with his hands. His artificial limbs were then stored by airline staff in an overhead compartment away from his assigned seat. All of this occurred while the flight crew and passengers looked on. At the end of the flight, Dutch customs officers had to assist him in literally putting himself back together before he could leave the airport.

“This incident is a shocking reminder of the challenges people with disabilities face every day. Mr. DeJong is a man of stature and well informed about disability laws, including laws governing public transportation and persons with disabilities. While he handled this deplorable incident with strength and determination, one shudders to think how a less informed and experienced person with a disability would be able to endure such a mortifying experience,” said Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation. “We call on Turkish Airlines to apologize to Mr. DeJong and work to establish policies and practices that accommodate all of their travelers comfortably and compassionately.”

The FDR International Disability Award encourages and recognizes countries that make meaningful progress in upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The UN Convention originated in 2007 and currently has 153 signatories and has been ratified by 112 countries.

Though the United States signed the Convention in 2009, the United States Senate has not yet ratified it. On May 17th, just one week before Mr. DeJong’s appalling experience on Turkish Airlines, President Obama sent the treaty to the Senate where it currently awaits approval. If you are as outraged as we are about Mr. DeJong’s treatment, we encourage you to contact your Senators and urge them to support ratification of the UN Convention for Persons with Disabilities immediately.

Dr. Yang Jianli, Recipient of Lantos Foundation Front Line Fund Grant, Receives Morris B. Abram Human Rights Award

The Lantos Foundation congratulates UN Watch for its decision to honor Dr. Yang Jianli with theMorris B. Abram Human Rights Award. “We applaud UN Watch for choosing Dr. Yang, a man of extraordinary integrity and intelligence, to be this year’s recipient of the Morris B. Abram Human Rights Award,” said Lantos Foundation President Katrina Lantos Swett. "Jianli is a courageous human rights defender who has risked his life and eloquently raises his voice for human rights and justice for his country and the people of China. Dr. Yang represents the very finest of those Chinese patriots who are working for a China in which human rights and fundamental freedoms are protected, not trampled upon. The Lantos Foundation is proud to have supported Jianli’s work through our Front Line Fund, and we are confident this most recent honor will help to further his important work.”

"Tonight, I respectfully ask each of you, in your mind’s eye, to look across the bridge created by Morris Abram between the world struggles against the horrors of the Holocaust and against today’s assault on human rights.  Look over that bridge spanning more than seven decades. Look across to the victims of the Holocaust, to the 65 million victims of WWII..."

Click here for more from Dr. Yang's memorable acceptance speech.

Statement on Khodorkovsky Appeal Rejection

Putin continues manipulation of judicial system

CONCORD, NH – Following the Russian Supreme Court’s ruling to reject Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s appeal of his second conviction and 13 year prisonsentence, Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice, issued the following statement:

“It is not surprising that one of Putin’s first actions upon his return to the Russian Presidency was to continue his manipulation of the Judiciary and orchestrate the rejection of Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s latest appeal. This action, coupled with the blatant election theft he and his party just orchestrated, provides ominous insight into what lies ahead for the Russian people in the next six years under Putin’s tight-fisted reign. We can only hope that the currents of change coursing among the Russian populace can slowly push Russia in the direction of genuine justice and a legitimate system that obeys the rule of law. It seems this is the only force that could be strong enough to persuade Putin to finally allow the Russian people, including Mikhail Khodorkovsky, to have the voice and freedoms they so richly need and deserve.”

Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice Sponsors Monks Visit

“Days of Peace and Harmony” continue Through the Weekend at Canterbury Shaker Village”

On Wednesday the Tibetan Buddhist Monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery arrived at Shaker Village in Canterbury for The Peace and Harmony Program. Their visit is part of their annual tour to support the monastery and the 2,000 monks who currently reside there in exile from China.
 
The support given by the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice is part of their ongoing commitment to human rights in China. In 2009, the Lantos Foundation drew the criticism of the Chinese government when they awarded the Lantos Human Rights Prize to Tibet spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama in recognition of his lifelong commitment to the peaceful promotion of human rights for the people of Tibet [Autonomous Region of China]. “In honor of His Holiness the Dalia Lama and in remembrance of the dozens of Tibetans who have tragically set themselves on fire this past year to protest repressive Chinese rule, we are pleased to sponsor this event as a peaceful way to bring attention to the issue of human rights abuses in China and Tibet [Autonomous Region of China].” said Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation.
 
Open to the public, the main events are scheduled for this weekend, including a costumed Snow Lion Dance performance, a participatory Om Mani Padme Hum stone painting activity, and the dispersion of the vibrantly colored sacred sand mandala at the conclusion of their visit.
 
For more information call Shaker Village at (603) 783-9511 x230 or visit their event page at shakers.org. Suggested donations are appreciated.

Lantos Foundation & Roosevelt Institute Partnership

2012 FDR International Disability Rights Award Re-Established

CONCORD, NH - The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice is pleased to announce that the FDR International Disability Rights Award will once again be granted to a United Nations Member State. The purpose of the award is to recognize that nation’s significant progress in implementing and meeting the goals and ideals characterized by the UN Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Lantos Foundation President Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett said, "Where there is injustice, people with disabilities often face discrimination and the most appalling treatment. We believe the rights of one are the rights of all, and this work is a natural extension of our efforts on behalf of human rights around the world."

Roosevelt Institute Chair Anna Eleanor Roosevelt said her organization is pleased to have an enthusiastic partner in the Lantos Foundation.  “We have sponsored the award since its beginnings,” she said. “We’re grateful for this partnership and opportunity to once again select a deserving winner."
 
Originally established in 1995, this esteemed award has recognized ten Member States of the United Nations. The last nation to qualify for the award was New Zealand in 2008.

The 2012 recipient will be announced on December 3rd, UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and honored at a presentation ceremony in the spring of 2013.

The award is now administered jointly by the Roosevelt Institute and the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice. It will be presented annually at the United Nations in New York to the Head of State of the honored nation, in the presence of the Secretary General. In addition, a $50,000 cash award will be given to an outstanding non-governmental program (NGO) working in the honored nation on behalf of persons with disabilities.

More information about the award can be found at the FDR International Disability Rights Award website.