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Press Release
Human Rights Watch October 25, 2002
U.S. Senator Was
“Real Leader on Human Rights”
Washington - Human Rights Watch expressed its shock and sorrow today at the
death of U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone, a champion of human rights and justice.
Wellstone was killed, along with his wife, daughter and several staff members in
a plane crash in his home state of Minnesota.
Wellstone devoted much of his time in the Senate to promoting human rights,
humanitarian law, civil liberties and the protection of refugees. The
legislation he crafted brought attention to often-ignored tragedies, and sought
to protect the forgotten victims of torture, repression and conflict in every
part of the world.
“Paul Wellstone was a real leader on human rights issues,” said Kenneth Roth,
executive director of Human Rights Watch. “His voice was among the first to be
heard when victims of persecution needed help. It didn’t matter if he was in the
majority, or in a minority of one. You could always count on him to do the right
thing.”
In the Senate, Wellstone took a strong, principled position on human rights in
China, arguing that trade with China should be linked to human rights
improvements, and sponsoring resolutions urging action on China by the United
Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva. As chair of the South Asia
subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he consistently decried
human rights abuses throughout the region, was deeply concerned about the plight
of those displaced by conflict and violence in Asia, and held hearings to draw
attention to the urgent humanitarian and human rights crisis in Afghanistan.
Wellstone often spoke out against the human rights violations resulting from the
conflict in Colombia. He introduced resolutions and repeatedly raised concerns
regarding violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in
Chechnya, and was one of the first members of the U.S. Congress to call for
greater attention to human rights in Central Asia following the attacks of
September 11th. He played an instrumental role in the creation and enactment of
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, which gave added protections to
the victims of human trafficking and strengthened law enforcement mechanisms to
prevent this crime. Together with his wife Sheila, Wellstone campaigned against
domestic and sexual violence, and supported the Violence Against Women Act.
Human Rights Watch extends is deepest sympathies to the surviving members of the
Wellstone family and his staff.
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