[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 386 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 386
Condemning the Government of Iran for restricting and suppressing
freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and
freedom of assembly, and for its human rights abuses, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 22, 2009
Mr. Kaufman (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. McCain, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Kyl,
Mr. Casey, Mr. Graham, Mr. Levin, Mr. Brownback, and Mr. Hatch)
submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning the Government of Iran for restricting and suppressing
freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and
freedom of assembly, and for its human rights abuses, and for other
purposes.
Whereas hundreds of thousands of Iranian citizens have engaged in peaceful
protest since the June 12, 2009, presidential election in Iran;
Whereas the Government of Iran has responded to these protests with a concerted
campaign of intimidation, repression, and violence, including human
rights abuses against Iranian citizens;
Whereas there have been numerous allegations of torture, rape, imprisonment, and
violence perpetrated against Iranian citizens by the Government of Iran
since the June 12 elections;
Whereas the Government of Iran has sought to restrict and suppress the
legitimate right of the people of Iran to exercise freedom of speech,
freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press;
Whereas the Government of Iran has monitored, controlled, and censored access to
the Internet, and has conducted a campaign of harassment and
intimidation through the electronic media;
Whereas Freedom House assesses Internet and digital media in Iran as ``Not
Free,'' and characterizes the Government of Iran as wielding ``one of
the world's most sophisticated apparatuses for controlling the internet
and other digital technologies'';
Whereas the Government of Iran is engaged in a range of activities that
interfere with, or infringe upon, the right of the people of Iran to
access accurate, independent news and information;
Whereas, according to Amnesty International, the Government of Iran has banned
several newspapers, including Farhang-e Ashti, Arman-e Ravabet-e Omomi,
Tahlil-e Rooz, and Sarmayeh;
Whereas the Government of Iran has harassed, arrested, detained, imprisoned, and
assaulted numerous Iranian and foreign journalists, publishers, editors,
photographers, cameramen, and bloggers;
Whereas the Government of Iran has prohibited Iranian and non-Iranian news
services from distributing reports in Farsi;
Whereas the Government of Iran has revoked and temporarily suspended the
accreditation of foreign journalists to report on current events and
news developments in Iran;
Whereas the Government of Iran has interrupted short message service (SMS),
preventing text message communications and blocking Internet sites that
utilize such services;
Whereas the Government of Iran has partially jammed shortwave and medium wave
transmissions of Radio Farda, the Persian language service of Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty;
Whereas the Government of Iran has intermittently jammed satellite broadcasts by
Radio Farda, the Voice of America's Persian News Network (PNN), the
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and other non-Iranian government
news services;
Whereas the Government of Iran has blocked Web sites and blogs, including social
networking, content-sharing, and blogging sites, such as Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube, Orkut, Blogger, and Persianblog;
Whereas the Government of Iran has targeted, blocked, and limited Internet
connections and mobile network access to thwart communication in advance
of planned demonstrations, and has seized mobile phones that were used
to film or document the demonstrations;
Whereas the Government of Iran has monitored online activities of Iranians and
threatened them and their families with punitive action, including
citizens of Iran and Iranian-Americans living in the United States and
elsewhere overseas;
Whereas, in November 2009, the police forces of the Government of Iran formed a
special unit to monitor websites and ``Internet crimes,'' including
political offenses;
Whereas the Victims of Iranian Censorship Act (subtitle D of title XII of Public
Law 111-84), which was signed into law on October 28, 2009, stipulates
that ``it shall be the policy of the United States to encourage the
development of technologies, including Internet Web sites, that
facilitate the efforts of the Iranian people to gain access to and share
accurate information and exercise freedom of speech, freedom of
expressions, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press, through the
Internet or other electronic media'';
Whereas on December 10, 2009, President Barack Obama affirmed in his statement
accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, ``We will bear witness to the quiet
dignity of reformers. . .to the hundreds of thousands who have marched
silently through the streets of Iran. It is telling that the leaders of
these governments fear the aspirations of their own people more than the
power of any other nation. And it is the responsibility of all free
people and free nations to make clear to these movements that hope and
history are on their side.''
Whereas, on December 18, 2009, the United Nations General Assembly passed a
resolution calling on the Government of Iran to respect its human rights
obligations, including its obligations under its own constitution as
well as those of international human rights law; and
Whereas, on December 18, 2009, the Department of State issued a statement
welcoming the passage of the United Nations resolution which stated,
``The resolution, first adopted last month by the UN Third Committee,
expresses deep concern over the brutal response of Iranian authorities
to peaceful demonstrations in the wake of the June 12 election. . .Those
in Iran who are trying to exercise their universal rights should know
that their voices are being heard.'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) supports the right of the people of Iran to peacefully
express their voices, opinions, and aspirations, despite
intimidation, repression, and violence;
(2) condemns the human rights abuses committed by the
Government of Iran against Iranian citizens;
(3) condemns the efforts of the Government of Iran to
restrict and suppress freedom of the press, freedom of speech,
freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly;
(4) condemns online censorship, monitoring, intimidation,
and harassment conducted by the Government of Iran, including
threats against citizens of Iran and Iranian-Americans living
in the United States;
(5) condemns an atmosphere of impunity in Iran for those
who employ censorship, intimidation, harassment, or violence to
restrict and suppress freedom of speech, freedom of expression,
freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press;
(6) condemns the Government of Iran for violating the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, done at
New York December 16, 1966, and entered into force March 23,
1976, which has been ratified by Iran and states, ``Everyone
shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall
include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in
writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other
media of his choice.'';
(7) welcomes the decision made by the Department of State
on December 15, 2009, to foster and support the free flow of
information to Iranian citizens by recommending that the
Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control
(OFAC) issue a general license that would authorize downloads
of free mass market software to Iran necessary for the exchange
of personal communications or sharing of information or both
over the Internet as deemed ``essential to the national
interest of the United States''; and
(8) urges the implementation of the Victims of Iranian
Censorship Act (subtitle D of title XII of Public Law 111-84).
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