Human Rights

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined U.S. Senator Jeanee Shaheen, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and eight Democratic colleagues in urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to preserve the staff and programs administered by the Bureau of Democracy, Human…

A group of 10 Democratic senators are urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to save the State Department’s human rights arm amid his sweeping reorganization effort. The State Department notified Congress last month that most offices in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) would be shuttered under…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today requested the Government Accountability Office (GAO) provide more information to Congress on the ability of existing U.S. export controls to manage A.I.-related national security risks and human rights concerns. The Senators emphasized…

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) met with political and human rights activists TatsianaKhomich, Volha Harbunova, and Valery Kavaleuski to discuss ways to release political prisoners in Belarus.  During the meeting, Senator Welch spoke with Ms. Khomich about her sister, Belarusian activist Maryia Kalesnikava. Ms. Kalesnikava was an…

Statement for the Congressional Recordon Juan LópezSenator Peter Welch (D-Vt.)September 18, 2024 Madam President, over the past six years, my office, and the office of my predecessor Senator Leahy, have received reports of recurring threats, attacks, arbitrary arrests, and assassinations of members of the Guapinol,…