Chairman Risch Statement on State Department's 2018 Human Rights Report

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made the following statement on the release of the Annual Human Rights Report by the Department of State:

“The Annual Human Rights Report provides the opportunity to name and shame countries who are failing to support the most basic human rights of their citizens such as Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, and China. The report reminds us of the lengths governments will go to silence their own citizens through arbitrary detention, torture, and even murder, as in the case of Jamal Khashoggi. The United States will continue to monitor human rights violations around the world and push for accountability and justice for the victims of human rights abuses. Americans and our values will always be on the side of human rights and the voice for the voiceless. I thank Secretary Pompeo and his entire team for all their work to develop this report which is an important diplomatic tool.”

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