Wednesday, February 15, 2012

U.S. Senate Votes To Give Dalai Lama High Honor

The Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader (file photo) (epa)

May 26, 2006 -- The U.S. Senate has adopted a bill that would award a Congressional gold medal to the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama.

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May 26, 2006

The medal would recognize the exiled leader's advocacy of peace, compassion, tolerance, human rights, and nonviolence.

The award, initially given to military leaders, has also been given to individuals such as Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, and Nelson Mandela.

The Dalai Lama was born Tenzin Gyatso in 1935. He fled Tibet in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule. Thirty years later, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on bringing freedom to his people.

(AFP)

U.S. Report On Global Human Rights

Police in Moscow arrest human rights demonstrators on February 1 (courtesy photo)

THE RECORD ON RIGHTS: On March 8, the U.S. State Department issued its global report on human rights. According to the report, 15 years after the breakup of the Soviet Union, human rights are improving in many post-communist countries. But problems persist in others, it says, despite the worldwide explosion of information and Western efforts to spread democracy. (more)

For more detailed information, see:

Azerbaijan Cited For Political Harassment, Police Brutality
Child Labor, Human Trafficking Cited In U.S. Report On Afghanistan
U.S. Says China, Iran 'Most Systematic' Rights Violators
Human Rights Not A Priority In Central Asia, U.S. Report Says
U.S. Report Points To Serious Abuses In Iraq
Abuses In Chechnya, Centralized Power Cited In U.S Report On Russia
U.S. Says Serious Human Rights Violations Occurring In Iran