[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 94 (Wednesday, July 19, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7281-S7282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                EMANCIPATION OF IRANIAN BAHA'I COMMUNITY

  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 647, S. Con. 
Res. 57.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the concurrent 
resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 57) concerning the 
     emancipation of the Iranian Baha'i community.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution which had been reported from the Committee on 
Foreign Relations, with an amendment to the preamble to omit the part 
in black brackets and insert the part printed in italic, as follows:

       Whereas in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996, 
     Congress, by concurrent resolution, declared that it holds 
     the Government of Iran responsible for upholding the rights 
     of all its nationals, including members of the Baha'i Faith, 
     Iran's largest religious minority;
       Whereas Congress has deplored the Government of Iran's 
     religious persecution of the Baha'i community in such 
     resolutions and in numerous other appeals, and has condemned 
     Iran's execution of more than 200 Baha'is and the 
     imprisonment of thousands of others solely on account of 
     their religious beliefs;
       Whereas in July 1998 a Baha'i, Mr. Ruhollah Rowhani, was 
     executed by hanging in Mashhad after being held in solitary 
     confinement for 9 months on the charge of converting a Muslim 
     woman to the Baha'i Faith, a charge the woman herself 
     refuted;
       Whereas 4 Baha'is remain on death row in Iran, 2 on charges 
     on apostasy, and [12] 11 others are serving prison terms on 
     charges arising solely from their religious beliefs or 
     activities;
       Whereas the Government of Iran continues to deny individual 
     Baha'is access to higher education and government employment 
     and denies recognition and religious rights to the Baha'i 
     community, according to the policy set forth in a 
     confidential Iranian Government document which was revealed 
     by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1993;
       Whereas Baha'is have been banned from teaching and studying 
     at Iranian universities since the Islamic Revolution and 
     therefore created the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education, 
     or Baha'i Open University, to provide educational 
     opportunities to Baha'i youth using volunteer faculty and a 
     network of classrooms, libraries, and laboratories in private 
     homes and buildings throughout Iran;
       Whereas in September and October 1998, Iranian authorities 
     arrested 36 faculty members of the Open University, 4 of whom 
     have been given prison sentences ranging between 3 to 10 
     years, even though the law makes no mention of religious 
     instruction within one's own religious community as being an 
     illegal activity;
       Whereas Iranian intelligence officers looted classroom 
     equipment, textbooks, computers, and other personal property 
     from 532 Baha'i homes in an attempt to close down the Open 
     University;
       Whereas all Baha'i community properties in Iran have been 
     confiscated by the government, and Iranian Baha'is are not 
     permitted to elect their leaders, organize as a community, 
     operate religious schools, or conduct other religious 
     community activities guaranteed by the Universal Declaration 
     of Human Rights;
       Whereas on February 22, 1993, the United Nations Commission 
     on Human Rights published a formerly confidential Iranian 
     government document that constitutes a blueprint for the 
     destruction of the Baha'i community and reveals that these 
     repressive actions are the result of a deliberate policy 
     designed and approved by the highest officials of the 
     Government of Iran; and
       Whereas in 1998 the United Nations Special Representative 
     for Human Rights, Maurice Copithorne, was denied entry into 
     Iran.

  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment 
to the preamble be agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment was agreed to.
  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble, as amended, be agreed to, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to this 
resolution be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 57) was agreed to.
  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, as amended, reads as 
follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 57

       Whereas in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996, 
     Congress, by concurrent resolution, declared that it holds 
     the Government of Iran responsible for upholding the rights 
     of all its nationals, including members of the Baha'i Faith, 
     Iran's largest religious minority;
       Whereas Congress has deplored the Government of Iran's 
     religious persecution of the Baha'i community in such 
     resolutions and in numerous other appeals, and has condemned 
     Iran's execution of more than 200 Baha'is and the 
     imprisonment of thousands of others solely on account of 
     their religious beliefs;
       Whereas in July 1998 a Baha'i, Mr. Ruhollah Rowhani, was 
     executed by hanging in Mashhad after being held in solitary 
     confinement for 9 months on the charge of converting a Muslim 
     woman to the Baha'i Faith, a charge the woman herself 
     refuted;
       Whereas 4 Baha'is remain on death row in Iran, 2 on charges 
     on apostasy, and 11 others are serving prison terms on 
     charges arising solely from their religious beliefs or 
     activities;
       Whereas the Government of Iran continues to deny individual 
     Baha'is access to higher education and government employment 
     and denies recognition and religious rights to the Baha'i 
     community, according to the policy set forth in a 
     confidential Iranian Government document which was revealed 
     by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1993;
       Whereas Baha'is have been banned from teaching and studying 
     at Iranian universities since the Islamic Revolution and 
     therefore created the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education, 
     or Baha'i Open University, to provide educational 
     opportunities to Baha'i youth using volunteer faculty and a 
     network of classrooms, libraries, and laboratories in private 
     homes and buildings throughout Iran;
       Whereas in September and October 1998, Iranian authorities 
     arrested 36 faculty members of the Open University, 4 of whom 
     have been given prison sentences ranging between 3 to 10 
     years, even though the law makes no mention of religious 
     instruction within one's own religious community as being an 
     illegal activity;
       Whereas Iranian intelligence officers looted classroom 
     equipment, textbooks, computers, and other personal property 
     from 532 Baha'i homes in an attempt to close down the Open 
     University;
       Whereas all Baha'i community properties in Iran have been 
     confiscated by the government, and Iranian Baha'is are not 
     permitted to elect their leaders, organize as a community, 
     operate religious schools, or conduct other religious 
     community activities guaranteed by the Universal Declaration 
     of Human Rights;
       Whereas on February 22, 1993, the United Nations Commission 
     on Human Rights published a formerly confidential Iranian 
     government document that constitutes a blueprint for the 
     destruction of the Baha'i community and reveals that these 
     repressive actions are the result of a deliberate policy 
     designed and approved by the highest officials of the 
     Government of Iran; and
       Whereas in 1998 the United Nations Special Representative 
     for Human Rights, Maurice Copithorne, was denied entry into 
     Iran: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) continues to hold the Government of Iran responsible 
     for upholding the rights of all its nationals, including 
     members of the Baha'i community, in a manner consistent with 
     Iran's obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human 
     Rights and other international agreements guaranteeing the 
     civil and political rights of its citizens;
       (2) condemns the repressive anti-Baha'i policies and 
     actions of the Government of Iran, including the denial of 
     legal recognition to the Baha'i community and the basic 
     rights to organize, elect its leaders, educate its youth, and 
     conduct the normal activities of a law-abiding religious 
     community;
       (3) expresses concern that individual Baha'is continue to 
     suffer from severely repressive and discriminatory government 
     actions, including executions and death sentences, solely on 
     account of their religion;
       (4) urges the Government of Iran to permit Baha'i students 
     to attend Iranian universities and Baha'i faculty to teach at 
     Iranian universities, to return the property confiscated from 
     the Baha'i Open University, to free the imprisoned faculty 
     members of the Open University, and to permit the Open 
     University to continue to function;
       (5) urges the Government of Iran to implement fully the 
     conclusions and recommendations on the emancipation of the 
     Iranian Baha'i community made by the United Nations Special 
     Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, Professor Abdelfattah 
     Amor, in his report of March 1996 to the United Nations 
     Commission of Human Rights;

[[Page S7282]]

       (6) urges the Government of Iran to extend to the Baha'i 
     community the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration 
     of Human Rights and the international covenants of human 
     rights, including the freedom of thought, conscience, and 
     religion, and equal protection of the law; and
       (7) calls upon the President to continue--
       (A) to assert the United States Government's concern 
     regarding Iran's violations of the rights of its citizens, 
     including members of the Baha'i community, along with 
     expressions of its concern regarding the Iranian Government's 
     support for international terrorism and its efforts to 
     acquire weapons of mass destruction;
       (B) to emphasize that the United States regards the human 
     rights practices of the Government of Iran, particularly its 
     treatment of the Baha'i community and other religious 
     minorities, as a significant factor in the development of the 
     United States Government's relations with the Government of 
     Iran;
       (C) to emphasize the need for the United Nations Special 
     Representative for Human Rights to be granted permission to 
     enter Iran;
       (D) to urge the Government of Iran to emancipate the Baha'i 
     community by granting those rights guaranteed by the 
     Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international 
     covenants on human rights; and
       (E) to encourage other governments to continue to appeal to 
     the Government of Iran, and to cooperate with other 
     governments and international organizations, including the 
     United Nations and its agencies, in efforts to protect the 
     religious rights of the Baha'is and other minorities through 
     joint appeals to the Government of Iran and through other 
     appropriate actions.
       Passed the Senate July 19, 2000.

       

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