[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 823 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 823
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 30, 2020
Mr. Deutch (for himself, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Engel, Mr.
McCaul, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Schneider, Mr.
Chabot, Mr. Meeks, and Mrs. Wagner) submitted the following resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
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, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, 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, since 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;
Whereas the Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of
human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (A/74/188) dated July 18,
2019, provides, in part--
(1) the Iranian authorities and the Iranian criminal justice system
regard the Baha'is as ``unprotected infidels''; the Baha'i faith is also
``regarded as a misguided sect''; and ``Baha'i worship and religious
practices are deemed heresy.'';
(2) ``Baha'is have been murdered with impunity and violations of their
human rights have not been investigated.'';
(3) members of the Baha'i faith ``frequently face charges, such as,
`breaching national security', `propaganda against the holy regime of the
Islamic Republic of Iran', or `propaganda activities against the regime in
the interests of the Baha'i sect''';
(4) ``Since August 2005, more than 1,168 Baha'is have been arrested and
charged with vaguely worded offences.'';
(5) ``There were a total of 95 Baha'is reportedly arrested in 2018,
compared with at least 84 in 2017 and 81 in 2016.'';
(6) ``On 1 January 2019, the court of appeal of Isfahan reportedly
condemned, in separate judgments, nine Baha'i citizens to a total of 48
years of prison. They had been charged with `membership of the illegal
Baha'i community and propaganda against the regime by spreading the Baha'i
faith in the society.''';
(7) directed by a 2007 letter from the Security Unit of the Public
Place Supervision Office of the Islamic Republic of Iran to police
commanders throughout the country, Iranian authorities continue to apply
economic pressure against the Baha'i community, by banning them from
specific professions and ``halting their entry to `high earning
businesses.'''; and
(8) ``Since 2013, there have been more than 803 incidents of violations
of economic rights of the Baha'is, including arbitrary shop closures,
unfair dismissals from employment and the actual or threatened revocation
of business licenses.'';
Whereas the Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report for
2018, Iran section, provides, in part--
(1) ``Non-Shia Muslims and those affiliated with a religion other than
Islam, especially members of the Baha'i community, continued to face
societal discrimination and harassment, and employers experienced social
pressures not to hire Baha'is or to dismiss them from their private sector
jobs.''; and
(2) ``The law bars Baha'is from founding their own educational
institutions. A Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology order
requires universities to exclude Baha'is from access to higher education or
expel them if their religious affiliation becomes known.'';
Whereas, on March 13, 2019, the Department of State released the Country Reports
on Human Rights Practices for 2018 and, in connection with Iran, the
report provides, in part--
(1) Iranian authorities ``barred Baha'i students from higher
education'', and in September 2018, denied enrollment to more than 50
Baha'i college applicants because of their religious affiliation; and
(2) ``The country materially contributed to human rights abuses . . .
in Yemen, through its support for Houthi rebels and directing authorities
in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen to harass and detain Baha'is because of
their religious affiliation.'';
Whereas the 2019 Annual Report of the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom provides, in part--
(1) ``There are more than 300,000 Baha'is in Iran, who together
constitute the largest non-Muslim religious majority in the country.'';
(2) ``Shiraz city councilman Mehdi Hajati was arrested on the order of
the Shiraz Revolutionary Court after criticizing the arrests of Baha'is in
his city.''; and
(3) ``Security forces also prevented the burial of two deceased Baha'i
individuals in a Baha'i cemetery in Kerman after it was sealed in March
2018. In October, the body of a deceased Baha'i woman was exhumed four days
after her burial and abandoned in a desert area outside the town of
Jaban.'';
Whereas the Baha'i International Community has documented more than 26,000 items
of anti-Baha'i hate propaganda in Iran's official and semi official
media since January 2014;
Whereas the Government of Iran is a party to the International Covenants on
Human Rights and is in violation of its obligations under such
covenants;
Whereas section 105 of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and
Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8514) authorizes the President 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''; and
Whereas the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (Public Law
112-158) amends and expands the authorities established under the
Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010
(Public Law 111-195) to sanction Iranian human rights abusers: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(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--
(A) to immediately release all imprisoned or
detained Baha'is, together with all other prisoners
held solely on account of their religion;
(B) to end its state-sponsored campaign of hate
propaganda against the Baha'is; and
(C) to reverse state-imposed policies denying equal
opportunities to higher education, earning a
livelihood, due process under the law, and the free
exercise of religious practices;
(3) calls on the President and the 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 the Secretary of State to
utilize available authorities 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.
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