April, 12 2016, 02:00pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Andrew Harman – GAP Communications Director
andrewh@whistleblower.org
(202) 457-0034 Ext. 156
House and Senate to Each Hold Hearings on Allegations of Abuse and Absence of Accountability at the UN
GAP Clients Aicha Elbasri and Miranda Brown to Testify at House and Senate Hearings Respectively
WASHINGTON
WHY: In the wake of serious child sex abuse scandals in the Central African Republic and Haiti, and the deliberate and systematic cover-ups of crimes against humanity that occurred under the UN's watch in Darfur, top UN officials have seemingly engaged in both a process to cover up abuses and retaliate against the brave whistleblowers who risked their careers to put an end to such atrocities.
GAP clients Aicha Elbasri and Miranda Brown will testify before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee respectively. They will share their experiences with U.S. legislators in the hope that action will be taken to protect victims and help implement necessary changes that ensure whistleblowers have a viable path to report on and put an end to wrongdoing without facing reprisals.
WHO:
- Dr. Aicha Elbasri - Former Spokesperson for the United Nations - African Union Mission in Darfur, United Nations.
- Dr. Miranda Brown - Former Chief of Africa I Section, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
WHERE:
- 2200 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20510 - (Dr. Elbasri)
- Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 419, Washington, DC 20510 - (Dr. Brown)
WHEN: Wednesday, April 13 at 2:00 p.m. ET
The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a 30-year-old nonprofit public interest group that promotes government and corporate accountability by advancing occupational free speech, defending whistleblowers, and empowering citizen activists. We pursue this mission through our Nuclear Safety, International Reform, Corporate Accountability, Food & Drug Safety, and Federal Employee/National Security programs. GAP is the nation's leading whistleblower protection organization.
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Congressional Report Calls Trump Deportation Plan 'Catastrophic' for Economy
"All it will do is raise grocery prices, destroy jobs, and shrink the economy," JEC Chair Martin Heinrich said of the president-elect's plan to deport millions of immigrants.
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Echoing recent warnings from economists, business leaders, news reporting, and immigrant rights groups, Democrats on the congressional Joint Economic Committee detailed Thursday how President-elect Donald Trump's planned mass deportations "would deliver a catastrophic blow to the U.S. economy."
"Though the U.S. immigration system remains broken, immigrants are crucial to growing the labor force and supporting economic output," states the new report from JEC Democrats. "Immigrants have helped expand the labor supply, pay nearly $580 billion a year in taxes, possess a spending power of $1.6 trillion a year, and just last year contributed close to $50 billion each in personal income and consumer spending."
There are an estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, and Trump—who is set to be sworn in next month—has even suggested he would deport children who are American citizens with their parents who are not and attempt to end birthright citizenship.
Citing recent research by the American Immigration Council and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the JEC report warns that depending on how many immigrants are forced out of the country, Trump's deportations could:
- Reduce real gross domestic product (GDP) by as much as 7.4% by 2028;
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The JEC report followed a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday that explored how mass deportations would not only devastate the U.S. economy but also harm the armed forces and tear apart American families.
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one of President-elect Donald Trump's top expected targets as he plans to dismantle parts of the federal government after taking office in January, announced on Thursday its latest action aimed at saving households across the U.S. hundreds of dollars in fees each year.
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The Federal Reserve Board exempted banks from Truth in Lending Act protections in 1969, allowing them to charge overdraft fees without disclosing their terms to consumers.
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Similarly, in April Barr claimed at a hearing that "the vast majority of Americans" believe credit card late fees are legitimate after the Biden administration unveiled a rule capping the fees at $8.
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Even five arrests that the tracker deems "election-related" took place at protests that were "at least partially if not entirely focused on the Israel-Gaza war." Three of those election-related arrests took place at protests happening around the Democratic National Convention in August.
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