[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 148 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 148

Condemning the Government of Iran's state-sponsored persecution of its 
   Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International 
                       Covenants on Human Rights.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 23, 2015

Mr. Kirk (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Rubio) submitted 
   the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Condemning the Government of Iran's state-sponsored persecution of its 
   Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International 
                       Covenants on Human Rights.

Whereas, in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2006, 
        2008, 2009, 2012, and 2013, Congress declared that it deplored the 
        religious persecution by the Government of Iran of the Baha'i community 
        and would hold the Government of Iran responsible for upholding the 
        rights of all Iranian nationals, including members of the Baha'i Faith;
Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2014 
        Report stated, ``The Baha'i community, the largest non-Muslim religious 
        minority in Iran, long has been subject to particularly severe religious 
        freedom violations. The government views Baha'is, who number at least 
        300,000, as `heretics' and consequently they face repression on the 
        grounds of apostasy.'';
Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2014 
        Report stated that ``[s]ince 1979, authorities have killed or executed 
        more than 200 Baha'i leaders, and more than 10,000 have been dismissed 
        from government and university jobs'' and ``[m]ore than 700 Baha'is have 
        been arbitrarily arrested since 2005'';
Whereas the Department of State 2013 International Religious Freedom Report 
        stated that the Government of Iran ``prohibits Baha'is from teaching and 
        practicing their faith and subjects them to many forms of discrimination 
        not faced by members of other religious groups'' and ``since the 1979 
        Islamic Revolution, formally denies Baha'i students access to higher 
        education'';
Whereas the Department of State 2013 International Religious Freedom Report 
        stated, ``The government requires Baha'is to register with the police,'' 
        and ``The government raided Baha'i homes and businesses and confiscated 
        large amounts of private and commercial property, as well as religious 
        materials.'';
Whereas the Department of State 2013 International Religious Freedom Report 
        stated, ``Baha'is are regularly denied compensation for injury or 
        criminal victimization and the right to inherit property.'';
Whereas, on August 27, 2014, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the 
        situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran issued a 
        report (A/69/356), which stated, ``The human rights situation in the 
        Islamic Republic of Iran remains of concern. Numerous issues flagged by 
        the General Assembly, the United Nations human rights mechanisms and the 
        Secretary-General persist, and in some cases appear to have worsened, 
        some recent overtures made by the Administration and the parliament 
        notwithstanding.'';
Whereas, on December 18, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a 
        resolution (A/RES/69/190), which ``[e]xpresse[d] deep concern'' over 
        ``[c]ontinued discrimination, persecution and human rights violations 
        against persons belonging to unrecognized religious minorities, 
        particularly members of the Baha'i [F]aith . . . and the effective 
        criminalization of membership in the Baha'i [F]aith,'' and called upon 
        the Government of Iran to ``emancipate the Baha'i community . . . and to 
        accord all Baha'is, including those imprisoned because of their beliefs, 
        the due process of law and the rights that they are constitutionally 
        guaranteed'';
Whereas, since May of 2008, the Government of Iran has imprisoned the seven 
        members of the former ad hoc leadership group of the Baha'i community in 
        Iran, known as the Yaran-i-Iran, or ``friends of Iran''--Mrs. Fariba 
        Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, 
        Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm--and 
        these individuals are serving 20-year prison terms, the longest 
        sentences given to any current prisoner of conscience in Iran, on 
        charges including ``spying for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, 
        propaganda against the regime and spreading corruption on earth'';
Whereas, beginning in May 2011, officials of the Government of Iran in 4 cities 
        conducted sweeping raids on the homes of dozens of individuals 
        associated with the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) and 
        arrested and detained several educators associated with BIHE, and 12 
        BIHE educators are now serving 4- or 5-year prison terms;
Whereas scores of Baha'i cemeteries have been attacked, and, in April 2014, 
        Revolutionary Guards began excavating a Baha'i cemetery in Shiraz, which 
        is the site of 950 graves;
Whereas the Baha'i International Community reported that there has been a recent 
        surge in anti-Baha'i hate propaganda in Iranian state-sponsored media 
        outlets, noting that, in 2010 and 2011, approximately 22 anti-Baha'i 
        articles were appearing every month, and, in 2014, the number of anti-
        Baha'i articles rose to approximately 401 per month--18 times the 
        previous level;
Whereas there are currently 100 Baha'is in prison in Iran;
Whereas the Government of Iran is party to the International Covenants on Human 
        Rights and is in violation of its obligations under the Covenants; and
Whereas the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 
        2010 (Public Law 111-195) authorizes the President and the Secretary of 
        State to impose sanctions on individuals ``responsible for or complicit 
        in, or responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, 
        the commission of serious human rights abuses against citizens of Iran 
        or their family members on or after June 12, 2009'': Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns the Government of Iran's state-sponsored 
        persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation 
        of the International Covenants on Human Rights;
            (2) calls on the Government of Iran to immediately release 
        the 7 imprisoned Baha'i leaders, the 12 imprisoned Baha'i 
        educators, and all other prisoners held solely on account of 
        their religion;
            (3) calls on the President and Secretary of State, in 
        cooperation with responsible nations, to immediately condemn 
        the Government of Iran's continued violation of human rights 
        and demand the immediate release of prisoners held solely on 
        account of their religion; and
            (4) urges the President and Secretary of State to utilize 
        available authorities, including the Comprehensive Iran 
        Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, to 
        impose sanctions on officials of the Government of Iran and 
        other individuals directly responsible for serious human rights 
        abuses, including abuses against the Baha'i community of Iran.
                                 <all>