Rep. McGovern released a Dear Colleague Letter today regarding the human rights crisis in Honduras. It is open for signatures until May 25th. Please call your representatives and ask them to sign on. Full letter attached.
Protect Human Rights in Honduras
Sign Letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Dear Colleague,
We ask that you join us on a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to protect and promote human rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law in Honduras.
On April 15th, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) presented its 2010 Annual Report to the Organization of American States (OAS). In that report, it singled out Honduras as one of four countries in the region whose human rights situation warrants special attention, devoting an entire additional chapter on Honduras to the report. The IACHR states: “The section on Honduras contains information on murders, harassment and persecution of human rights defenders and other social leaders; harassment and persecution of magistrates identified as opposed to the coup d’etat; violations of the right to freedom of expression; and poor implementation of precautionary measures [to protect human rights defenders and other rights advocates], among other matters.”
Over the past several weeks, additional reports and alerts regarding the deteriorating state of human rights in Honduras have also been issued by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, Committee to Protect Journalists, International Federation of Journalists, the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and the National Education Association.
We urge Secretary Clinton to ensure a more vigorous U.S. response in support of human rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law. To sign onto the letter, please contact Cindy Buhl (McGovern) at 5-6101 or cindy.buhl@mail.house.gov; Nina Besser (Schakowsky) at 5-2111 or nina.besser@mail.house.gov; or Caitie Whelan (Farr) at 5-2861 or caitie.whelan@mail.house.gov. The deadline to join the letter is Wednesday, May 25th.
Sincerely,
James P. McGovern Janice D. Schakowsky Sam Farr
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress