[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 551 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 551

  Marking the one year anniversary of the June 12, 2009, presidential 
 election in Iran, and condemning ongoing human rights abuses in Iran.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 14, 2010

 Mr. Kaufman (for himself, Mr. Casey, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. McCain, Mrs. 
   Shaheen, Mr. Kyl, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Menendez, Mr. 
 Graham, and Mr. Levin) submitted the following resolution; which was 
                        considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Marking the one year anniversary of the June 12, 2009, presidential 
 election in Iran, and condemning ongoing human rights abuses in Iran.

Whereas the Government of Iran has systematically undertaken a campaign of 
        violence, persecution, and intimidation against Iranian citizens who 
        have peacefully protested the results of the deeply flawed Iran 
        presidential elections of June 12, 2009;
Whereas the 2009 Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices in 
        Iran found that ``[t]he government [of Iran] severely limited citizens' 
        right to peacefully change their government through free and fair 
        elections'' and ``. . . severely restricted the right to privacy and 
        civil liberties, including freedoms of speech and the press, assembly, 
        association, and movement'';
Whereas hundreds of thousands of peaceful demonstrators gathered in the streets 
        of Iran in the aftermath of the June 12, 2009, elections, and dozens of 
        innocent Iranians were killed and more than 4,000 were arbitrarily 
        arrested by police and security forces and the Basij militia;
Whereas hundreds of Iranian citizens remain in detention and more than 250 
        prominent activists and demonstrators were tried in mass ``show trials'' 
        that began in August 2009, and at least 50 of these defendants have 
        received sentences ranging from six months imprisonment to death;
Whereas, on June 20, 2009, a member of the Basij militia reportedly shot and 
        killed 27 year-old student Neda Agha-Soltan, whose murder was recorded 
        on a mobile phone camera, disseminated via the Internet, and became a 
        rallying cry for the political opposition and Green Movement;
Whereas, since the election, the Government of Iran has systemically restricted 
        and suppressed free press, free expression, free assembly, and free 
        access to the Internet and other forms of connective technology in order 
        to limit the flow of information and silence political opposition and 
        other forms of popular dissent;
Whereas the Government of Iran has a deplorable human rights record that 
        includes severe restrictions on the freedom of religion or belief, 
        denial of the freedom of assembly and the rights of civil society, 
        systematic torture and ill-treatment, and judicial proceedings that lack 
        due process;
Whereas the Government of Iran continues to operate with hostility and impunity 
        toward journalists, reformers, ethnic and religious minorities, 
        political opponents, human rights defenders, women's rights groups, 
        student activists, and others, including through unlawful and arbitrary 
        detentions, arrests, politically motivated sentencing, physical 
        assaults, and killings;
Whereas human rights activists, journalists, and ethnic and religious minorities 
        have fled Iran for fear of persecution and are residing, some in 
        dangerous circumstances, in neighboring countries seeking refugee status 
        and asylum in the United States and other countries;
Whereas the Government of Iran has violated its obligations under the 
        International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on 
        the Rights of the Child, the International Convention on the Elimination 
        of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the International Covenant on 
        Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
Whereas the 2010 Freedom House Freedom in the World Report finds that Iran leads 
        the world in the number of jailed journalists;
Whereas, since the June 2009 election, the Government of Iran has restricted 
        foreign press access, banned more than 60 international media outlets, 
        and jammed international broadcasts, including those of Radio Free 
        Europe/Radio Liberty's Radio Farda, Voice of America's Persian News 
        Network, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and other non-Iranian 
        news services;
Whereas, on December 18, 2009, the United Nations General Assembly passed a 
        resolution condemning ``serious, ongoing and recurring human rights 
        violations in Iran'' and calling on the Government of Iran to respect 
        its human rights obligations;
Whereas, on December 27, 2009, the Ashura holiday, at least eight civilians were 
        killed in confrontations with authorities, and police reportedly 
        arrested approximately 300 civilians in relation to popular 
        demonstrations;
Whereas, on February 11, 2010, the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, the 
        Government of Iran beat and arrested numerous protestors, jammed text 
        messaging technology, slowed and restricted access to the Internet, and 
        blocked email and news websites, intentionally limiting the ability of 
        Iranian citizens to communicate and freely access news and information;
Whereas, on April 19, 2010, the Government of Iran officially suspended 
        prominent political parties, banned a reformist newspaper, and sentenced 
        to prison leaders within the political opposition; and
Whereas activists connected to the 2009 election protests were recently re-
        arrested in an attempt to disrupt planned protests on the one-year 
        anniversary of the election on June 12, 2010: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) solemnly marks one year since the flawed June 12, 2009, 
        presidential election in Iran, and honors Iranian citizens who 
        have lost their lives in peaceful protest since the election;
            (2) supports the people of Iran as they seek peaceful and 
        free expression, free speech, free press, free assembly, 
        unfettered access to the Internet, and freedom of religion 
        despite a campaign of intimidation, repressions, and violence 
        perpetrated by the Government of Iran;
            (3) commends the people of Iran who have braved the 
        persistent and pervasive threat of censorship, arrest, physical 
        harassment, and death to have their voices heard and peacefully 
        exercise fundamental human rights, as enshrined in the 
        constitution of Iran and international human rights law, 
        including the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
        Rights, entered into force on March 23, 1976, and ratified by 
        Iran;
            (4) condemns the Government of Iran for perpetrating 
        ongoing human rights abuses and for restricting, monitoring, 
        and suppressing freedom of the press, expression, assembly, 
        speech, and religion, as well as free access to the Internet 
        and other forms of connective technology in order to limit the 
        flow of information and silence political opposition and other 
        forms of popular dissent;
            (5) denounces the atmosphere of impunity for those who 
        intimidate, harass, and commit violence against Iranian 
        citizens, and calls for the unconditional release of all 
        political and religious prisoners in Iran;
            (6) urges the President and Secretary of State to mobilize 
        resources to support freedom of assembly, freedom of 
        expression, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and 
        freedom of speech in Iran, especially on the June 12 
        anniversary of the 2009 presidential election;
            (7) encourages the President and Secretary of State to work 
        with the United Nations Human Rights Council to condemn the 
        ongoing human rights violations perpetrated by the Government 
        of Iran and establish a monitoring mechanism by which the 
        Council can monitor such violations;
            (8) urges the Government of Iran to cooperate with and 
        allow visits of the United Nations Special Rapporteurs for 
        Human Rights and the United Nations Office of the High 
        Commissioner for Human Rights;
            (9) urges the President and Secretary of State to work with 
        the international community to ensure that violations of human 
        rights are part of all formal and informal multilateral or 
        bilateral discussions with and regarding Iran; and
            (10) calls for the immediate return of all missing and 
        detained United States citizens in Iran.
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