FCNL joined 11 other organizations focused on human rights and civil liberties to express their dismay over the treatment of Sharqawi Al Hajj. Al Hajj, who has spent the last fifteen years in Guantanamo Bay, is in desperate need of an independent medical examination following a recent suicide attempt. Our coalition called on Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to immediately give Al Hajj the outside treatment he needs.
I have been fortunate to regularly travel to Iran since my childhood. I have seen how living conditions have improved and how social restrictions have gradually been loosened.
As a 22-year-old, I fall into the “transitional generation.” We exist somewhere between millennials and Generation Z—so I’ve become well-versed in all the critiques of both groups. I came of age hearing that millennials were politically apathetic and civically disengaged, and that Gen Z was too busy with their phones to take charge of the world. As a collective group of young people, adults perceived us as lazy, uninterested and detached from reality. Or so they thought.
On October 27 we watched another horrendous mass shooting take place, as 11 people were slain and several others were injured in a shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA. This anti-Semitic act of violence has no place in our communities or country. We stand in solidarity with our Jewish neighbors and friends against this hatred.
Despite the saber-rattling and threats of war, the House of Representatives this summer quietly and overwhelmingly voted to bolster U.S. government efforts to prevent violent conflicts that cause atrocities and genocide. It passed the Eli Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act (H.R. 3030). A similar bill awaits final passage in the Senate (S. 1158).
The Circle of Protection sent a letter to Congress urging members to prioritize programs that address poverty and hunger rather than increased expenditures on militarizing the border and detaining immigrant families.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving to stop regulating mercury emissions for coal-fired power plants. These plants are the most significant contributors to mercury pollution, which poses severe health hazards, especially in young children and fetuses.
FCNL opposes the administration’s decision to cancel Temporary Protected
Status (TPS) for Nicaraguans and non-decision resulting in an inadequate
automatic 6-month extension for Hondurans. We urge Congress to ensure
that the administration is upholding the integrity of the TPS program so
that individuals are not returned to harm and to pursue long overdue
stability for our immigrant neighbors.
The agreement President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un signed in Singapore today to take steps toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a lasting peace agreement is a hopeful first step toward reducing the possibility of war.
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