The Lantos Foundation Remembers Professor Elie Wiesel

Katrina Lantos Swett Statement: "Professor Wiesel was a dear friend to the Lantos family and the Lantos Foundation and his passing is an inestimable loss to us all. He was indeed the moral conscience of the world and the Lantos Foundation was honored to have presented him with the Lantos Prize in 2010. 

Elie had remarked once that he was one of those who did not sleep well and that it was his duty to make sure the world also did not sleep too well but rather was kept in remembrance of the evil that could overtake us if we permitted our humanity and our moral conscience to slumber. In this conviction he was truly a "brother" to my late father Congressman Tom Lantos, another Hungarian Holocaust survivor and his close friend. In a very similar vein my father had said " The veneer of civilization is paper thin, we are its guardians and we can never rest".

Through his extraordinary writing, speaking and advocacy, Elie Wiesel reached deep into the heart of an often callous and casual world with a quiet insistence that we remember and that we act. Mingled with our sorrow at his passing is a profound gratitude for the life of this great man. Our world will not be the same without him - we promise him that we will "never rest"."

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NH residents remember holocaust survivor, author and activist Elie Wiesel's legacy By: Jennifer Currier, NH1.com

"Elie Wiesel was one of those beacons of light to us that helps us to remember that our job is important and we need to keep ever-vigilant in doing the things that we do.” - Denise Perron, Lantos Foundation Executive Director

Read full article on NH1news

Lantos Foundation co-presents Son of Saul Screening

On Wednesday, May 18th, the Lantos Foundation, the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire, & Red River Theatres are proud to present a screening of the 2016 Academy Award winning film, Son of Saul.

The film follows Saul Ausländer, a Hungarian Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944. Saul is forced to assist the Nazis in the machinery of large-scale extermination. While working, he discovers the body of a boy he takes for his son. As a rebellion is planned, Saul decidesto carry out the impossible task of saving the child’s body from the flames and offering the boy a proper burial.

6:00 PM - Red River Theatres, Concord, NH. Post-film discussion with Lantos Foundation President Katrina Lantos Swett.

Please consider supporting the Crossroads Film & Discussion Series with a $10 donation per ticket to the World Affairs Council NH.

To attend, please register by phone (603.314.7970) or athttp://www.wacnh.org/event-2228889

Lantos Foundation President Denied India Visa

"There's a reason the late Tom Lantos, Congress' only Holocaust survivor and a formidable diplomat, applied for a visa to enter Iran every year for the last decade of his life. What better way to puncture the petty lies of a demagogue than to force him to confront a man who has lived the very history he denies and trivializes?" - John Kerry

Katrina Lantos Swett followed in her father's footsteps when she was recently denied a visa she sought in order to confront injustices and have difficult conversations about the state of human rights.  This time it was in India, where there has been a frightening increase in religious intolerance and violence against minorities.  Less than a month later, Dr. Lantos Swett entered the country on a tourist visa and attended a religious freedom conference focused on China.  Officials suggested that her entry was a mistake.   

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/delhi-redfaced-over-uturn-on-visa-to-us-official/article8548404.ece

Lantos Foundation Supports Vietnam Freedom of Religion or Belief Roundtable

The Lantos Foundation has joined a diverse group of organizations and groups supporting the recently established Vietnam Freedom of Religion or Belief Roundtable. We are proud to add our name to a letter calling upon the United States and Vietnamese governments to give the roundtable full support.

"As organizations and individuals who promote greater freedom of religion or belief worldwide, we stand in solidarity with the Vietnam FoRB Roundtable and all its participants."

Read the joint statement here: http://tinyurl.com/zwjay3a

Lantos Foundation ISIS Genocide Statement

The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice commends Secretary of State John Kerry’s declaration that the Islamic State’s actions against Yezidi, Christian, and Shiite communities constitutes genocide. Coming just days after Congress passed a unanimous joint resolution condemning the Islamic State’s actions as genocide, it is encouraging to see our leaders joining together in a bi-partisan and ecumenical way to boldly call evil by its true name, and in so doing they are honoring basic human rights and justice.

As Secretary Kerry stated in his remarks today: “Naming these crimes is important. But what is essential is to stop them.” We hope that the message sent this week by the United States Congress and by the United States Department of State will not only raise awareness of the horrific crimes being committed in the Middle East today, but will lead to strong action to stop these atrocities.

Too often the world has failed to act when helpless minorities have faced the clear threat of genocide. We hope that this time will be different. We call on the world community to act to ensure that the Yazidi, Christian, and Shiite communities in Syria and Iraq are not only saved, but also restored in the wake of the devastating trauma that they have endured. Only by working together can we overcome the evil that ISIS represents. 

Lantos Foundation Front Line Fund grant recipient honored at International Film Festival on Women, Social Issues, and Zero Discrimination

"Author, researcher, social activist & filmmaker Dr Shahida Akhter has been given the Platinum Award as the Best Director at the Award Ceremony of the International Film Festival on Women, Social Issues and Zero Discrimination 2016 for her documentary film 'Fight Acid Violence' held at the Indonesian capital Jakarta on 7th March." Read more

Lantos Foundation Announces 2016 Solidarity Sabbath - Spotlight Focused on China

Concord, NH - The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice announced today the launch of the 2016 Solidarity Sabbath, which focuses on the Chinese government’s harsh repression of freedom of religion, conscience, and belief. They are calling on individuals and faith communities around the world to devote the weekend of May 20-22, 2016 to highlight the strength and bravery of Chinese citizens who courageously live out their faith despite threats of harassment, imprisonment, and torture.

“While the Chinese government officially sanctions five religions, it does so with strict Communist Party oversight. Individuals and faith communities who follow their consciences outside the control of the Chinese Communist Party risk imprisonment, torture, or worse,” said Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation. “Without pressure from the global community and the political leadership of free nations, hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens will continue to be denied the most fundamental of human rights. Furthermore, religious freedom, tolerance, and respect are vital for the economic and social well-being of nations and their people.”

Individuals are encouraged to visit SolidaritySabbath.org to learn more about the absence of religious freedom in China. There are three ways they can participate: (1) encourage their respective faith communities to focus on the lack of religious freedom in China during the weekend of May 20-22, (2) sign the Solidarity Sabbath petition urging governments to put greater pressure on the Chinese government, and (3) reach out to one of the 2016 Solidarity Sabbath partner organizations to support their work on behalf of people in China. These partners include China Aid, Initiatives for China, the International Campaign for Tibet, the Chen Guangcheng Foundation, All Girls Allowed, and the Uyghur Human Rights Project.

The Solidarity Sabbath is an annual initiative of the Lantos Foundation that supports the fundamental human right of freedom of religion, conscience, and belief. During the inaugural Solidarity Sabbath in 2015, leaders across Europe and North America joined together to combat the spread of anti-Semitism. The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice is a non-profit focused on protecting fundamental human rights, promoting the rule of law, encouraging corporate responsibility with respect to human rights, and advancing the legacy and work of the late Congressman Tom Lantos.

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Solidarity Sabbath - Spotlight on China

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Advance the Freedom of Religion, Conscience, and Belief

Religious and spiritual believers in today’s China are being persecuted in ways not seen since Mao's Cultural Revolution 40 years ago. On the weekend of May 20-22, 2016, religious and spiritual communities around the world will join together in the 2016 Solidarity Sabbath to highlight the strength and bravery of Chinese citizens who courageously live out their faith despite threats of harassment, imprisonment, and even torture by the ruling Communist Party.

Freedom of religion, conscience, and belief is a vital human rights issue for all global citizens, and you have a chance to help highlight the plight of the millions of Chinese denied this basic entitlement. Whether it is encouraging your faith community’s leadership to participate in the Solidarity Sabbath or petitioning your government to take part, there are so many ways to make a difference.

Learn more at SolidaritySabbath.org