[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 33 Introduced in House (IH)]







111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 33

     Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the 
Government of Iran's lack of protection for internationally recognized 
   human rights creates poor conditions for religious freedom in the 
                       Islamic Republic of Iran.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 8, 2009

Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the 
Government of Iran's lack of protection for internationally recognized 
   human rights creates poor conditions for religious freedom in the 
                       Islamic Republic of Iran.

Whereas the people of Iran have demonstrated a deep and lasting desire for 
        peace, stability, democracy, and pluralism;
Whereas the Department of State concluded in its March 2008 Country Report on 
        Human Rights Practices that Iran's poor human rights record worsened and 
        the Government of Iran continues to commit serious abuses;
Whereas the Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report 2007 
        concluded that there was a continued deterioration of the extremely poor 
        status of respect for religious freedom, and every year since 1999 the 
        Department has designated Iran a ``country of particular concern'' under 
        the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for its violations of 
        religious freedom;
Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has 
        found that the Government of Iran engages in systematic, ongoing, and 
        egregious violations of religious freedom, and continues to recommend 
        that Iran be designated a ``country of particular concern'';
Whereas the Government of Iran carries out summary executions, including of 
        minors, following trials that lack due process;
Whereas Iranian authorities continue to abuse and torture detainees and 
        prisoners, including carrying out severe punishments such as amputations 
        and floggings;
Whereas the Government of Iran systematically suppresses the freedoms of 
        expression and press, and severely limits the freedom of assembly of its 
        own citizens;
Whereas the Government of Iran's monopoly on enforcement of their interpretation 
        of Islam negatively affects the human rights of women in Iran, including 
        their right to the freedoms of movement, association, thought, 
        conscience, and religious, as well as freedom from coercion in matters 
        of religion or belief;
Whereas ethnic and religious minorities are subject to harsh treatment by 
        Iranian authorities;
Whereas, since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, significant numbers from religious 
        minority communities fled Iran for fear of persecution;
Whereas, during the past year, the Government of Iran's poor religious freedom 
        record deteriorated with intensified harassment, detention, arrests, and 
        imprisonment, especially for Baha'is, Sufi Muslims, and Evangelical 
        Christians;
Whereas Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denials of the Holocaust and 
        statements calling for Israel to be ``wiped off the map'' have created a 
        climate of fear among Iran's Jewish community, as official policies 
        promoting anti-Semitism are on the rise and official discrimination 
        against Jews continues to be pervasive;
Whereas, over the past several years, and particularly since President 
        Ahmadinejad came to power, members of the Baha'i community have been 
        harassed, physically attacked, arrested, and imprisoned, and more than 
        200 Baha'is have been executed since the beginning of the Iranian 
        Revolution in 1979;
Whereas, in May 2008, Iranian authorities arrested 6 Baha'i leaders, as well as 
        at least a dozen Christian converts from Islam;
Whereas the 6 Baha'i leaders, as well as a 7th who was arrested in March 2008, 
        are being held incommunicado, without access to legal counsel;
Whereas, in November 2007, three Baha'is were sentenced to 4 years in prison for 
        allegedly spreading propaganda against the regime, and 51 others 
        received suspended sentences for the alleged crime of setting up a 
        program to educate poor Iranian children;
Whereas Baha'i youth and children in Iran are denied the universal right to 
        education, expelled from educational institutions, and vilified by 
        teachers and professors;
Whereas Christians, in particular Evangelicals and other Protestants, in Iran 
        continue to be subject to harassment, arrests, close surveillance, and 
        imprisonment, and many converts from Islam to Christianity have fled the 
        country for fear of persecution;
Whereas Muslim minorities continue to face repression, including Iranian Sunni 
        leaders who have reported widespread abuses and restrictions on their 
        religious practice, such as detentions and torture of Sunni clerics, as 
        well as bans on Sunni teachings in public schools and religious 
        literature, even in predominately Sunni areas;
Whereas Sufis face growing repression of their communities and religious 
        practices by the Government of Iran, including increased intimidation, 
        harassment, and detention of prominent Sufi leaders by the intelligence 
        and security services in recent years;
Whereas, in November 2007, clashes in western Iran between security forces and 
        followers of a mystic Sufi order resulted in dozens of injuries and 
        arrests after authorities began bulldozing a Sufi monastery;
Whereas ethnic Turkmen Sunnis from northeastern Iran, bordering Turkmenistan, 
        report an intense government campaign to convert them to Shi'a Islam;
Whereas dissidents and political reformers continue to be imprisoned on criminal 
        charges for criticizing the regime;
Whereas a 2007 Department of State report cites Iran for widespread serious 
        abuses, including unjust executions, politically motivated abductions by 
        security forces, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, and arrests of 
        women's rights activists;
Whereas a number of senior Shi'a religious leaders who have opposed various 
        Iranian government policies on political or religious grounds have also 
        been targets of state repression, including house arrest, detention 
        without charge, trial without due process, torture, and other forms of 
        ill treatment;
Whereas the Iranian Parliament is considering a new law that would impose 
        serious punishments, including the death penalty, on converts from 
        Islam, as although the Government of Iran has applied the death penalty 
        for apostasy in the past, it has not been explicitly codified;
Whereas, in its current state, the draft penal code is not consistent with the 
        Government of Iran's international obligations and therefore should not 
        enter into force; and
Whereas Whereas, if this draft penal code is passed, it would seriously endanger 
        the lives of all Baha'is, Muslim dissidents, and converts from Islam: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) calls for the release of all religious prisoners in 
        Iran and for United States officials, at the highest levels, to 
        vigorously speak out publicly about the deteriorating 
        conditions for freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or 
        belief in Iran, including drawing attention to the need for the 
        international community to hold authorities accountable in 
        specific cases where severe violations have occurred;
            (2) calls on the United Nations Human Rights Council to 
        monitor carefully and demand compliance with the 
        recommendations of the representatives of those special 
        mechanisms that have already visited Iran, particularly those 
        of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion 
        or Belief, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the 
        Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion on Expression;
            (3) encourages the United Nations Human Rights Council to 
        continue to use its procedures to maintain oversight conditions 
        for freedom of religion or belief in Iran, including, as Iran 
        has issued a standing invitation, continued visits and 
        reporting by the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or 
        Belief, and other relevant special rapporteurs and working 
        groups;
            (4) supports--
                    (A) the continued designation of Iran as a 
                ``country of particular concern'' under the 
                International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for its 
                systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of 
                religious freedom;
                    (B) funding budgeted to promote democracy and human 
                rights in Iran that includes support for effective 
                initiatives to advance freedom of religion or belief, 
                as well as ways to promote rule of law programs that 
                specifically seek to protect religious minorities;
                    (C) adequate funding for United States public 
                diplomacy entities, such as Voice of America and Radio 
                Farda, and the expansion and development of new 
                programming solely focused on human rights, including 
                the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or 
                belief, in Iran;
                    (D) supports the commission of an independent 
                review of Voice of America Persian and Radio Farda to 
                ensure that the programming reflects the basic tenants 
                of freedom of information, equality, transparency, and 
                journalistic integrity that America espouses;
                    (E) a United Nations General Assembly resolution 
                condemning severe violations of human rights, including 
                freedom of religion of belief, in Iran, and calling for 
                officials responsible for such violations to be held 
                accountable; and
                    (F) the establishment of a diplomatic envoy to the 
                nation immediately to establish dialogue with the 
                Government of Iran and deepen relationships with the 
                Iranian people; and
            (5) calls on the Government of Iran to--
                    (A) immediately release all prisoners who have been 
                detained on account of their religion or belief;
                    (B) immediately release all prisoners of conscience 
                who have been detained on account of their political 
                dissidence;
                    (C) modify the draft penal code in order to respect 
                the obligations under the international human rights 
                conventions to which the Government of Iran is a party;
                    (D) uphold its international commitments by 
                respecting and protecting the human rights of all its 
                citizens; and
                    (E) ratify and fully comply with international 
                human rights instruments and cooperated with United 
                Nations human rights mechanisms.
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