[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 78 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 78

 Condemning the repression of the Iranian Baha'i community and calling 
                for the emancipation of Iranian Baha'is.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 30, 2003

    Mr. Lieberman (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. 
  Brownback) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Condemning the repression of the Iranian Baha'i community and calling 
                for the emancipation of Iranian Baha'is.

Whereas in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, and 2000, Congress, by 
        concurrent resolution, declared that it holds the Government of Iran 
        responsible for upholding the rights of all Iranian nationals, including 
        members of the Baha'i Faith;
Whereas in those resolutions and in numerous other appeals, Congress has 
        deplored the religious persecution by the Government of Iran of the 
        Baha'i community and has condemned the execution by Iran of more than 
        200 Baha'is and the disruptive imprisonment of thousands of others 
        solely on account of their religious beliefs;
Whereas Iranian Baha'is are not permitted to elect their leaders, assemble or 
        organize as a community, operate religious schools, or conduct other 
        religious community activities that are guaranteed by the Universal 
        Declaration of Human Rights, adopted and proclaimed by the United 
        Nations General Assembly Resolution 217(A)(III) of December 10, 1984;
Whereas the continued denial of Baha'i property rights by the Iranian Government 
        is demonstrated by the confiscation by the Iranian Government of a 
        multitude of Baha'i community and private properties;
Whereas the Government of Iran continues to deny individual Baha'is access to 
        higher education and government employment, in addition to denying 
        recognition and religious rights to the Baha'i community;
Whereas because Baha'is have been banned from teaching and studying at Iranian 
        universities since the Islamic Revolution, Baha'is established the 
        Baha'i Institute of Higher Education, or Baha'i Open University, to 
        provide educational opportunities to Baha'i youth using volunteer 
        faculty and a network of classrooms, libraries, and laboratories in 
        private homes and buildings throughout Iran;
Whereas in September and October of 1998, officers of the Ministry of 
        Information, the intelligence agency of the Iranian Government, arrested 
        36 faculty members of the Open University;
Whereas on July 19, 2002, Iranian Revolutionary Guards systematically disrupted 
        student qualifying examinations for the Open University in 9 different 
        districts by videotaping the proceedings, questioning the students, and 
        confiscating examination papers and Baha'i books;
Whereas the use of arbitrary arrests, suspended sentences, and short-term 
        detentions against the Iranian Baha'is have become widespread;
Whereas as of June 2003, 4 Baha'is remain in Iranian prisons solely because of 
        their religious beliefs: 1 serving a life sentence on charges of 
        apostasy, 1 serving 4 years on charges of participation in Baha'i 
        activities, and 2 sentenced to 15 years imprisonment on charges of 
        association with Baha'i institutions;
Whereas on October 10, 2003, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel 
        Peace Prize for 2003 to Shirin Ebadi for her efforts involving democracy 
        and human rights, including advocating equal rights for the Baha'i 
        community in Iran;
Whereas the conclusions contained in the report of October 13, 2003, by the 
        General Affairs and External Relations Council of the European Union, 
        conveyed the continuing concern of the European Union about the 
        violations of the Baha'is' right to freedom of religion, and urged the 
        Iranian Government to comply with both the recommendations made in June 
        2003 by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and with 
        the recommendations made in August 2003 by the Committee on the 
        Elimination of Racial Discrimination concerning injustice, particularly 
        in relation to education, property rights, and employment; and
Whereas in the 2003 General Affairs and External Relations Council report, the 
        European Union urged the Government of Iran to expedite reform on many 
        fronts, while recognizing the meetings held in 2003 and the planned 
        meetings that have been welcomed by the Government of Iran, to be an 
        important step toward progress: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
that Congress--
            (1) continues to hold the Government of Iran responsible 
        for upholding all the rights of its nationals, including 
        members of the Baha'i community, in a manner consistent with 
        Iran's obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human 
        Rights, adopted and proclaimed by the United Nations General 
        Assembly Resolution 217(A)(III) of December 10, 1984, and other 
        international agreements guaranteeing the civil and political 
        rights of Iranian citizens;
            (2) condemns the repressive anti-Baha'i policies and 
        actions of the Government of Iran, including the denial of 
        legal recognition to the Baha'i community and the basic rights 
        to organize, elect leaders, educate youth, and conduct the 
        normal activities of a law-abiding religious community;
            (3) expresses concern that individual Baha'is continue to 
        suffer from severely repressive and discriminatory government 
        actions, solely on account of their religion;
            (4) urges the Government of Iran to permit Baha'i students 
        to attend Iranian universities and Baha'i faculty to teach at 
        Iranian universities, to return the property confiscated from 
        the Baha'i Open University, and to permit the Open University 
        to continue to function;
            (5) urges the Government of Iran to implement fully the 
        conclusions and recommendations on the emancipation of the 
        Iranian Baha'i community made by the United Nations Working 
        Group on Arbitrary Detention and also to comply with the 
        recommendations made in August 2003 by the Committee on the 
        Elimination of Racial Discrimination;
            (6) urges the Government of Iran to extend to the Baha'i 
        community the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of 
        Human Rights, adopted and proclaimed by the United Nations 
        General Assembly Resolution 217(A)(III) of December 10, 1984, 
        and other international covenants of human rights, including 
        the freedoms of thought, conscience, and religion, and equal 
        protection of the law;
            (7) calls upon the President to continue to--
                    (A) assert the concerns of the United States 
                Government regarding--
                            (i) the violations by the Iranian 
                        Government of the rights of Iranian citizens, 
                        including members of the Baha'i community;
                            (ii) the support by the Iranian Government 
                        of international terrorism; and
                            (iii) the efforts of the Iranian Government 
                        to develop nuclear weapons and acquire weapons 
                        of mass destruction;
                    (B) emphasize that the United States regards the 
                human rights practices of the Government of Iran, 
                including its treatment of the Baha'i community and 
                other religious minorities, as a significant factor in 
                the development of relations between the United States 
                and Iran;
                    (C) urge the Government of Iran to emancipate the 
                Baha'i community by granting those rights guaranteed by 
                the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted and 
                proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly 
                Resolution 217(A)(III) of December 10, 1984, and other 
                international covenants on human rights; and
                    (D) cooperate with international organizations, 
                including the United Nations and its agencies, in 
                efforts to protect the religious rights of the Baha'is 
                and other minorities through joint appeals to the 
                Government of Iran; and
            (8) calls upon the President to--
                    (A) initiate an active and consistent dialogue with 
                other governments who are influential with Iran in 
                order to persuade the Government of Iran to rectify its 
                human rights practices; and
                    (B) urge the European Union to use its relationship 
                with Iran to address and advance these fundamental 
                human rights issues.
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