[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18693-18694]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     COMMEMORATING HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate Human Rights 
Day, an occasion to recognize the struggles of individuals all around 
the world who fight for their basic rights of life, liberty, and 
security of person.
  On March 2, 2011, Jean-Claude Roger Mbede of Cameroon was arrested 
for, ``homosexuality and attempted homosexuality'' and sentenced to 3 
years' imprisonment.

[[Page 18694]]

  Jean-Claude is one of the individual cases of the Tom Lantos Human 
Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project, which seeks to have 
Members of Congress adopt the case of an individual like Jean-Claude 
and work for their rights and freedom.
  Sadly, cases such as these are far too common in areas of the world 
where people can be imprisoned for simply exercising their basic human 
rights.
  I call upon the Cameroonian authorities to live up to their 
obligation to respect and protect the rights of Jean-Claude Mbede and 
all Cameroonians.
  I pledge to continue to follow his story and do what I can to secure 
his safety. I hope my colleagues will join me in taking up cases from 
the Defending Freedoms Project, and that, together, we can ensure 
justice for wrongly imprisoned individuals all across the world.

                          ____________________