Senate Urged to Confirm Nominees to Key Human Rights Posts

Washington, D.C. – Following today’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing for nominees Tom Malinowski, Keith Harper, Crystal Nix-Hines and Pamela Hamamoto, Human Rights First praised President Obama for nominating four strong advocates for U.S. leadership on human rights and urged the Senate to move quickly to confirm these NOMINEE:

Malinowski is nominated to serve as the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Harper has been tapped to serve as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council. Nix-Hines is the President’s nominee to be the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, and Hamamoto has been nominated to be the Representative of the United States of America to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva.

“During today’s confirmation hearing, these nominees demonstrated a strong commitment to protecting human rights as they work to advance freedoms for all people,” said Human Rights First’s Robyn Lieberman. “The Senate should move forward with a vote to confirm these qualified individuals. Now is no time to delay confirmations because the United States needs these key positions filled in order to advance America’s commitment to human rights in Russia, the Middle East, at Geneva and at the Olympics in Sochi.”