Human Rights Program - In the News Archive

July 28, 2018
Jimmy Carter’s Human Rights Message Resonates in Atlanta and Globally
Published by Atlanta Magazine.
On July 24, Jimmy Carter’s earnest roundtable discussions with around 70 human rights defenders and religious leaders from 36 countries countered the divisive tone of local election headlines. Carter spent the better portion of seven hours advocating repeatedly for the “equal treatment of all people” regardless of nationality, race, religion, or gender.

July 24, 2018
Jimmy Carter: The U.S. Has 'Lost its Place' as a Leader in Human Rights
Published by CNN.
Former Democratic President Jimmy Carter says the United States has "lost its place" as a global leader of human rights. "We should be the champion of human rights. We're a superpower, not based solely on military power; part of that definition should be a commitment to human rights."

May 9, 2017
Carter Fears Global Effect of New US Human Rights Policies
Published by the Associated Press.
As the Trump administration signals a de-emphasis of human rights in U.S. foreign policy decisions, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday that he’s concerned America’s approach will erode support for such rights in other countries.

Dec. 8, 2016
U.S. Must Stand for Human Rights by Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter op-ed, published by The Wall Street Journal.
The only title higher and more powerful than that of president is the title of citizen. We Americans are in the midst of a political transition that is reassuring in its constitutional orderliness even as it is fraught with uncertainty about what comes next. Just as each new U.S. president does, we, as citizens, should use this moment to remember the values that have defined us as a great nation.

March 8, 2016
International Women's Day: Reflecting on Progress Made and Challenges Still Unmet
Published by Huffington Post.
In Honor of International Women's Day, former first lady Rosalynn Carter answered a series of questions about her experiences in the movement for women's rights.

May 28, 2015
Jimmy Carter: Why I Believe the Mistreatment of Women is the Number One Human Rights Abuse
Published by TED.
With his signature resolve, former US President Jimmy Carter dives into three unexpected reasons why the mistreatment of women and girls continues in so many manifestations in so many parts of the world, both developed and developing. The final reason he gives? "In general, men don't give a damn."

May 14, 2015
We Can End the Illegal Sex Trade
By former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, published by Polictico Magazine.
Too often, when we think of sex trafficking in America, we imagine women smuggled here from Asia or Latin America, when in fact we should be picturing everyday girls and women from our own neighborhoods, exploited by pimps and brothel owners in our own cities and towns.

May 1, 2015
Jimmy Carter: Still Causing a Storm in His Fight for Women
Published by Reuters News.
After more than 50 years in the public arena, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has shown he can still command people's attention - with a column on why he quit his church over women's rights going viral six years after it was published.

Feb. 19, 2015
Support the Peacemakers Too
By Amb. (Ret.) Mary Ann Peters, published by Huffington Post.
President Obama has asked the Congress to pass an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) to counter the threat from the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The threat posed by this group is obvious and force will be necessary to halt and reverse their territorial gains.

Feb. 15, 2015
Jimmy Carter: Women's Rights the Fight of My Life
Published by CNN.com.
Jimmy Carter has seen a lot in his 90 years. As a son of the South, a governor and president, and as a man who spent decades tackling problems head-on, he knows the world is not perfect. It has too many people without a voice and without hope, too many examples of suffering and injustice. There are so many wrongs to right. Yet among them, Carter is putting one ahead of all others: Violence and injustice against girls and women.

Feb. 10, 2015
President Jimmy Carter's 'Call to Action' on Women's Rights
Published by Al Jazeera.
Former US President Jimmy Carter argues that discrimination and violence against women around the world is the most serious, pervasive and ignored violation of basic human rights.

Nov. 10, 2014
Video: Former U.S. Pres. Working to Empower Women
Published by CNN.com.
CNN's Amara Walker speaks to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter about why he's devoting his time to empowering women.

Sept. 29, 2014
Jimmy Carter: Slavery is Worse Now Than in 1700s
Published by CNBC.
Human slavery is not just a major issue in developing countries, but is a serious problem in the U.S. and is more prolific now than during the 18th and 19th century, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has told Tania Bryer, host of "CNBC Meets."

Aug. 30, 2014
Video: Jimmy Carter at the Islamic Society of North America
Published by C-SPAN.
Former President Jimmy Carter delivered the Keynote address at the Islamic Society of North America's Annual Convention. The Islamic Society of North America's 51st Annual Convention took place from August 29-September 1, 2014 at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan.

July 10, 2014
Writing the World's Wrongs
Published by Global Citizen Magazine.
With his 90th birthday looming, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter looks back on his troubled term in office and talks to Global Citizen about his new book and his ongoing fight to end the abuse of women and lethal waterborne diseases.

July 5, 2014
Carter's Human Rights Camelot
Published by Buenos Aires Herald (Argentina).
Relations with the United States would be vastly improved if more people in Argentina knew about a shining moment during the administration of President Jimmy Carter, when the promotion and defence of human rights became a priority of American foreign policy.

April 9, 2014
Carter: Violence Against Women is 'Worst Human Rights Violation on Earth'
Published by MSNBC.
Asked whether America has come as far as it should in fighting racism since President Lyndon Johnson's day, former President Jimmy Carter had a one word answer. "No."

April 8, 2014
Speaking at Rights Event, Carter Deplores Disparity
Published by The New York Times.
Former President Jimmy Carter on Tuesday targeted the mistreatment of women for the next front in the civil rights movement, calling for a multifaceted attack against abuses from pay discrimination in the workplace to rape on college campuses and global sex-trafficking of women and girls.

April 6, 2014
Jimmy Carter Tackles Prejudice Against Women
Published by the Associated Press.
In his new book, "A Call to Action," former president and longtime Baptist church deacon Jimmy Carter says prejudice and discrimination against women and girls is perpetuated in America and around the world by religious authorities who twist holy texts to assert male dominance.

March 28, 2014
Video: Jimmy Carter's New Mission
Published by PiersMorgan.Blogs.CNN.com.
Jimmy Carter talks to Piers Morgan about his new call to action to eradicate abuse of women and girls, as well as his thoughts on the new pope's openness to change.

March 26, 2014
Video: Jimmy Carter on Ukraine, Israel and Addressing Injustices Faced by Women Around the World
Published by PBS News Hour.
Former President Jimmy Carter sits down with Judy Woodruff to discuss Russia's annexation of Crimea, progress and limitations of working with Israel for the Obama administration and his own commitment to fight discrimination and violence against women and girls around the world. Carter has written his 28th book, "A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and Power."

March 26, 2014
Video: Jimmy Carter: 'God Doesn't Hate Women'
Published by the Washington Post.
Sally Quinn, founding editor of OnFaith, asks former President Jimmy Carter about the abuse of women around the world.

March 25, 2014
Video: Jimmy Carter Speaks Out on Religion and Equality for Women; Slams Sexist Biblical Interpretations
Published by the Huffington Post.
Former President Jimmy Carter is issuing a call to action for religions to stop using scripture to trample on women's rights. He spoke about his new book out today, "A Call To Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power," with HuffPost Live host Alyona Minkovski and responded to her question about what religion has to do with women's rights.

March 24, 2014
President Carter on Stopping Abuse Against Women
Published by Morning Joe.
Former President Jimmy Carter joins "Morning Joe" to discuss his new book, "A Call to Action." Carter talks about his mission to stop the social injustices and abuse against women.

March 24, 2014
President Carter Calls for Gender Equality Worldwide
Published by Andrea Mitchell Reports.
Andrea Mitchell talks with former President Jimmy Carter about his work in spreading awareness around the globe about violence against women, and talks about the letter he wrote to Pope Francis about expanding the role of women in the Catholic Church.

July 1, 2013
Religion and Human Rights: An Interview With President Jimmy Carter (Part One)
Published by Religion News Service.
When I entered the office of President Jimmy Carter in his Center off Freedom Parkway in Atlanta, I was filled with the anxiety I suppose anyone has when meeting such a person. He sat behind a mahogany desk reading a newspaper. The grandfatherly figure greeted me warmly before we moved to a sitting area for the interview.

June 28, 2013
Jimmy Carter: Women's Plight Perpetuated By World Religions (link no longer avaliable) 
Distributed by the Associated Press.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says religious leaders, including those in Christianity and Islam, share the blame for mistreatment of women across the world.

June 23, 2013
Jimmy Carter: A Sunday Interview
Published by TIME magazine.
In a wide-ranging interview, the former president calls on Catholics to accept female priests, America to denounce the death penalty and Obama to stay out of the Syrian war.

June 15, 2012
Carter Center Improving Accountability of Congo Mines
Published by Global Atlanta.
The Carter Center hopes to finish the final phase of a project designed to bring transparency to the mining industry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by the end of this summer.

Nov. 2, 2011
Website Shines Light on Congo's Corrupt Mining Sector
Published by the Guardian.
A website to shine a spotlight on the Democratic Republic of the Congo's notoriously corrupt and conflict-ridden mining sector has been launched by the Carter Centre in the U.S.

Nov. 1, 2011
DR Congo Mining Transparency Site Launched
Published Nov. 2, 2011, by the BBC.
The Carter Center said it helped launch congomines.org to give people more information about the mining sector, including contracts and payments.

June 21, 2011
Congo-Kinshasa: Publish All Mining, Oil And Forest Contracts
Published on AllAfrica.com.
Civil society and the government are agreed: the Democratic Republic of Congo must make public the details of all mining, forestry and oil contracts.

Aug. 28, 2010
Carter's diplomacy helps free American prisoner
Distributed by the Associated Press.
Jimmy Carter has for years worked behind the scenes to secure the release of political prisoners. But this week he had to do it in person and in the public spotlight, traveling to North Korea to bring an American home.

Dec. 2, 2008
Human Rights Activists at Carter Conference Hopeful Obama Administration Will Restore U.S. Lead
Distributed by the Associated Press.
Human rights activists from around the world expressed hopes Tuesday that President-elect Obama will restore the American lead toward achieving their aims.

Jan. 16, 2008
Rights of Passage
Reprinted with permission from the December 31, 2007 issue of The Nation magazine. Portions of each week's Nation magazine can be accessed at http://www.thenation.com.
In late September George W. Bush stood before the United Nations General Assembly and extolled a document whose sixtieth anniversary is being commemorated in a yearlong advocacy campaign that began December 10.

Nov. 20, 2007
Global-X Videos Feature Human Rights Defenders
Social Edge, a program of the Skoll Foundation--a Carter Center partner--conducted "Global-X" interviews with participants in the 2007 Human Rights Defenders Forum held Sept. 6-7 at The Carter Center. Featured on the Social Edge and You Tube Web sites, the three- to seven-minute videos highlight leading social entrepreneurs as they tell stories that had a significant impact on their lives. They also describe how they see the world in 2017.

Oct. 11, 2007
Egyptian Human Rights Activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim Defies Threats, Arrests to Challenge U.S.-Backed Mubarak Government
In Egypt, the government of President Hosni Mubarak is in the midst of one of the largest crackdowns against public dissent in a decade. Democracy Now! recently sat down with Saad Eddin Ibrahim, one of Egypt's leading human rights activists and the founder of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies. Ibrahim talks about the pro-democracy movement in Egypt, and the challenges it faces up against the U.S.-backed government of Hosni Mubarak.

Sept. 10, 2007
Former President Jimmy Carter on "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," Iraq, Greeting the Shah of Iran at the White House, Selling Weapons to Indonesia During the Occupation of East Timor, and More
In his first interview with Democracy Now!, former President Jimmy Carter talks about what led him to write "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid", his controversial book that argues Israel's settlements in the Occupied Territories are the main barrier to peace. Carter also discusses his regrets over sending arms to Indonesia during the occupation of East Timor and recounts his dealings with the Shah of Iran.

Sept. 7, 2007
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour: The U.S. War on Terror is Constantly Being Used by Other Countries as Justification for Torture and Other Violations of International Human Rights Laws
"Torture, arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention in violation of right to counsel, incommunicado detention, any country that wants to equip itself either through legislation or just through its practices with these kind of tools uses the example of the United States," Louise Arbour tells Democracy Now! "If I try to call to account any government, privately or publicly, for their human rights records, the first response is: first go and talk to the Americans about their human rights violations."

Sept. 7, 2007
Live from the Carter Center: A Roundtable Discussion With Zainah Anwar of Malaysia, Kaari Betty Murungi of Kenya and Louise Arbour on the Role of Human Rights Defenders Around the Globe
Zainah Anwar is considered Malaysia's leading feminist. She is the executive Director of Sisters in Islam, which promotes the rights of Muslim women within the framework of Islam. Kaari Betty Murungi is a leading Kenyan activist and lawyer. She is the Executive Director of Urgent Action Fund-Africa and she serves on several boards including the Kenyan Human Rights Commission and the Women's Initiative for Gender Justice.

Sept. 7, 2007
CNN Interview with Carter Center Human Rights Defenders, Jimmy Carter
The following is a transcript of the CNN/Jim Clancy interview with Carter Center Human Rights Defenders, Jimmy Carter.

Sept. 1, 2007
Human Rights Defenders Find Allies in Faith Groups
Harassed, labeled as traitors, and sometimes jailed for their work, human rights defenders come from backgrounds as diverse as the issues they advocate in their home countries. Many work from an equally diverse platform, one of personal faith. Defenders from 20 countries convened at The Carter Center in September for the fourth annual Human Rights Defenders Policy Forum, co-sponsored by Human Rights First.