John Sifton

The U.S. played a huge role in convincing the government to engage with the U.N.

I think it's good to pivot here to talk about how the U.S. can voice its displeasure with this situation.

I hope one thing that can come out of this hearing is that Members of Congress can press Ambassador Haley on why she made the disastrous, shortsighted and, frankly, childish decision to withdraw from the Human Rights Council yesterday.

There is no doubt that the Human Rights Council in Geneva is deeply flawed.

I would submit that membership in an entity who purports to espouse particular values as it relates to basic human rights and yet allows actors who are some of the most egregious violators of those values the positions and authority that…

Unfortunately, if the U.S. is not going to be in Geneva to do that, it'll fall to other countries, and that is a terrible indictment of this administration's commitment to promoting human rights.

More than 9 years after the conflict, the people of Sri Lanka are still struggling to rebuild their country's democratic institutions but also obtain justice for the crimes that were committed during the conflict.

CPC designation, generally, needs to be overhauled. I have great respect for the current Ambassador, but the fact of the matter is when countries like Vietnam and India are not on the list, it creates huge questions about the criteria that…

I think it is important that the U.S. Government and incoming administration take this seriously not just from a human rights point of view but from an economics of view.

The fact of the matter is an Indian NGO can give $1 million to an American organization. I, if I were a millionaire, which I am not, I cannot so freely give money to the Lawyers, Collective or Compassion. That is a question of parity.

The main and most powerful tool the Indian Government has for harassing NGOs is the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.