[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E221-E222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN RECOGNITION OF THE WORK OF HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATE JOHN P. SALZBERG, 
                                 PH.D.

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 28, 2006

  Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor John 
Salzberg, Ph.D., as he retires from his lifelong work of promoting 
human rights around the world.
  Thousands of torture survivors and human rights advocates around the 
world are forever indebted to the tireless work of Mr. Salzberg 
throughout his 30-year career in the field of human rights. John 
Salzberg completed his doctoral dissertation in human rights in 1973 
from New York University. Following his education, John spent several 
years working for former Congressman Don Fraser, D-MN, as staff on the 
House Subcommittee on International Organizations. In this capacity, 
John Salzberg aided in the groundbreaking work on human rights 
undertaken by Congressman Fraser, which led to the creation of a Bureau 
of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs in the State Department in 
1976. John traveled with Congressman Fraser on what was the first 
official human rights investigation mission to South Korea and 
Indonesia in the late 1970s. In addition, while working for Congressman 
Fraser, John assisted in the drafting of the legislation which mandated 
the annual human rights report now issued by the State Department each 
year.
  After working for Congressman Fraser, John went on to work at that 
same Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs for 4 years, to 
ensure it fulfilled the mission intended by Congressman Fraser's 
legislation.
  Most recently, John used his knowledge of the legislative and policy 
process, and his dedication to justice and equality, as an advocate for 
the Center for Victims of Torture. John began working for the Center 
for Victims of Torture in 1992, first as a volunteer and then as its 
representative on Capitol Hill. As an advocate for victims of torture, 
John was a major force behind the drafting, promotion and eventual 
passage of the Torture Victims Relief Act

[[Page E222]]

in 1998, and its reauthorization in 2005. This legislation provides 
needed resources to centers and organizations around the world that 
work to assist victims of torture in their rehabilitation and in 
rebuilding their lives.
  John is a soft-spoken, humble, and extremely effective man dedicated 
to seeing an end to human rights abuses in the world. In his 
retirement, the human rights community is losing a true champion. Thank 
you, John Salzberg, for your 30 years of service on behalf of the 
millions of victims of cruel and inhumane human rights abuses around 
the world.

                          ____________________