Anti-Black, anti-Muslim, and anti-immigrant sentiment behind decision to remove Congresswoman Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led by Speaker McCarthy.
DAWN joined 88 other organizations from the human rights, progressive, and national security communities in signing a letter condemning the removal of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee in an effort led by Speaker McCarthy.
The full text of the letter can be read below.
Joint Statement in Support of Representative Omar
The vote to remove Representative Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC), following the partisan decision to keep Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell off the House Intelligence Committee, lacked any legitimate justification and marks a disgraceful opening to the 118th Congress. In pressing ahead with the resolution of removal, Speaker McCarthy has robbed HFAC of a member of Congress committed to universal human rights, international justice and diplomacy, and the defense of democracy, while stirring up hate against a leading Black woman and Muslim member of Congress. We, the undersigned organizations, condemn this vote and affirm our intent to continue engaging with Rep. Omar as a leader in shaping U.S. foreign policy.
In the last four years, Rep. Omar has used her position on HFAC to center human rights and democracy, support critical humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected and disaster-stricken communities, combat hate and authoritarianism, and promote international justice. Her signature efforts include the Pathway to PEACE, a package of seven bills that would block arms sales to human rights-abusing governments, redirect funds from the Pentagon's overseas slush fund to global peacebuilding efforts, and enhance congressional oversight of the executive's sanctions authorities. She co-led the Combating International Islamophobia Act, which passed the House in 2021. She has led or co-led congressional letters expressing solidarity in defense of Brazil's democracy, urging the creation of a Loss & Damage Finance Facility to help developing countries recover from climate catastrophes, and supporting the rights of migrantsand refugees at every turn.
The partisan decision to remove her from HFAC as she becomes the first African-born ranking member of its Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights subcommittee is particularly egregious. Her formation of the U.S.-Africa Policy Working Group is an example of her willingness to push for a U.S. foreign policy that prioritizes partnerships with civil society and social movements. Her support for international accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, and close scrutiny of U.S. military operations in Somalia, the Saheland elsewhere, are a needed corrective to policymakers who believe that the United States should be allowed to play by a different set of rules, thereby trying to preserve the integrity of international laws and norms.
In addition to uplifting her substantive contributions to HFAC, we cannot let this moment pass without condemning the obvious anti-Black, anti-Muslim, and anti-immigrant sentiment behind this decision. Until this vote, Rep. Omar was the most senior Black woman serving on HFAC, in addition to being its second most senior Black member and its only Muslim member. Speaker McCarthy's resolution is the latest in a line of attacks animated by unapologetic and vile Islamophobic smears that seek to marginalize Black and Muslim perspectives. Previously, these attacks have encouraged death threats against Rep. Omar. In addition to ginning up further hate, this latest vote is another in a string of efforts to silence her and others who share her background from determining and influencing key U.S. policies.
We vow to continue to engage with Rep. Omar on U.S. foreign policy, and we will work to ensure that policy discussions in Congress and throughout the country make room for her views and voice.
Sincerely,
- 198 methods
- Amazon Watch
- America Indivisible
- American Friends Service Committee
- Americans for Indian Opportunity
- Americans for Peace Now
- Arab American Civic Council
- Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
- Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project
- Borderlands for Equity
- Bridges Faith Initiative
- Center for Economic and Policy Research
- Center for Victims of Torture
- Civic Ark
- CODEPINK
- Colombia Acuerdo de Paz NGO
- Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES)
- CommonDefense.us
- Council for a Livable World
- Council for Global Equality
- Defending Rights & Dissent
- Demand Progress Education Fund
- Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)
- Demos Action
- Femena
- Foreign Policy for America (FP4A)
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Freedom Forward
- Friends of the Earth
- Giniw Collective
- Global Zero
- Greenpeace USA
- Hindus for Human Rights
- Human Rights First
- Indivisible
- Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
- Institute for Policy Studies Climate Policy Program
- Institute for Policy Studies, New Internationalism Project
- Islamophobia Studies Center
- Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Futures Society
- Jetpac Resource Center
- Jewish Voice for Peace Action
- Just Foreign Policy
- Justice Democrats
- Keystone Progress
- Lansing Area Peace Education Center
- Latin America Working Group (LAWG)
- Libyan American Alliance
- MADRE
- Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
- Minneapolis DFL
- Movement Voter Project
- MPower Change Action Fund
- Muslim Community Network
- Muslim Counterpublics Lab
- Muslim Public Affairs Council
- Muslims for Just Futures
- National Iranian American Council Action
- National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies
- National Religious Campaign Against Torture
- Our Revolution
- Pacifica Strategies
- Pax Christi USA
- Peace Action
- Peace Action New York State
- Physicians for Social Responsibility
- Planned Parenthood Federation of America
- Poligon Education Fund
- Progressive Change Campaign Committee
- Progressive Democrats of America
- Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)
- Rethinking Foreign Policy
- RootsAction.org
- School of the Americas Watch
- Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign
- Social Security Works
- SOUTH ASIAN NETWORK
- South Dakota Voices for Peace
- The Advocates for Human Rights (a Minnesota-based organization)
- The Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI)
- The Black Hive @ M4BL
- The People's Justice Council
- The Quincy Institute
- Tunisian United Network
- UltraViolet
- US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO)
- Win Without War
- Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center
- Women Cross DMZ
