[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 111 (Tuesday, September 19, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H7750-H7753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CONCERNING THE EMANCIPATION OF IRANIAN BAHA'I COMMUNITY

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 257) concerning the emancipation of 
the Iranian Baha'i community.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 257

       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 2 Baha'is remain on death row in Iran, 2 on charges 
     on apostasy, and 10 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

[[Page H7751]]

     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 House of Representatives (the Senate 
     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;
       (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.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Hilliard) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).


                             General Leave

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on H. Con. Res. 257.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, today we are considering a resolution to 
call once again for the emancipation of the Iranian Baha'i community.

                              {time}  1115

  We have passed similar resolutions seven times since 1982, yet the 
Baha'is in that country continue to be deprived of their basic rights 
by their government, by the Iranian government. Despite the fact that 
they are committed to nonviolence, tolerance and loyalty to government, 
the Baha'is continue to suffer deprivations and harassment from the 
fanatical elements of Iranian society, ranging from local clergy and 
their uneducated followers to highly placed government officials. 
Eleven Baha'is continue to languish in Iranian prisons; arrested, tried 
and sentenced as a result of their personal religious beliefs and 
peaceful religious activity.
  Baha'i religious gatherings and administrative institutions were 
banned in 1983. A 1991 government document calls for the continued 
obstruction of the economic and social development of the Baha'i 
community. The Iranian constitution recognizes only four religions: 
Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism; and official rhetoric 
continues to name those as the only religions whose members may enjoy 
full rights.
  Baha'is continue to be denied government employment, denied 
university employment, denied legitimately earned pensions, denied 
admission to Iranian universities, denied access to the legal system, 
denied access to decent places to bury their dead, and a host of other 
civil liberties that we in our Nation have come to take for granted as 
basic elements of a free and just society.
  The election of President Khatami in Iran and the subsequent 
relaxation of the clerical dictatorship have brought hope that the rule 
of law will eventually prevail in that nation, and that full rights 
will be granted to all of its citizens, including the Baha'is. We have 
seen some improvement in the treatment of individual Baha'is. In the 
last 2 years, Baha'is have been granted passports for travel abroad 
more frequently and some have been granted business licenses again. A 
significant concession to the Baha'is was a recent modification of the 
rules of registration of marriages that now omits references to 
religion, allowing Baha'is to register marriages and legitimize their 
children for the first time in many years.
  Those steps are significant and they should be acknowledged as signs 
of promise for full emancipation to come in the future. Yet those 
actions have been taken silently and come far short of granting Baha'is 
the recognition under the constitution, the Iranian constitution, that 
would improve their situation and protect them from fanaticism.
  We look to President Khatami to stand behind his promise of Iran for 
all Iranians and to take steps to extend the protection of his 
constitution to the Baha'is by granting those rights guaranteed by the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants 
on Human Rights. We cannot remain silent when a community of 300,000 
people continues to suffer the effects of persecution and deprivation 
while their government proclaims its support of human rights for all.
  The passage of this resolution will voice once again that the United 
States finds the situation of the Baha'is in Iran intolerable and will 
not rest until that community wins full and complete emancipation.
  Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to vote for H. Con. 
Res. 257.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HILLIARD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. Mr. 
Speaker, I would first like to commend the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Porter) for introducing this resolution and thank the

[[Page H7752]]

gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) for moving it through the 
legislative process.
  This important resolution concerns the continued persecution of the 
Baha'i community in Iran.
  The resolution states that the Congress continues to hold the 
government of Iran responsible for upholding the rights of all its 
nationals, including members of the Baha'i community.
  The resolution also condemns the repressive anti-Baha'i policies and 
actions of the government of Iran. These policies include, first, the 
denial of legal recognition of the Baha'i community; preventing the 
community from organizing and electing its leaders; stopping the 
education of Baha'i youth; and stopping the Baha'is from conducting the 
normal activities of a law-abiding religious community.
  The Porter resolution also urges the government of Iran to permit 
Baha'i students to attend Iranian universities and to permit the Baha'i 
Open University to reopen.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, the resolution calls on President Clinton to 
continue to make Iran's treatment of the Baha'i community a significant 
factor in the development of U.S. relations with Iran; to emphasize the 
need for the U.N. Special Representative for Human Rights to be allowed 
to enter Iran, and to urge the government of Iran to emancipate the 
Baha'i community; and finally, to encourage other governments to appeal 
to Iran to protect the rights of Baha'is.
  Mr. Speaker, the Baha'is in Iran have been persecuted far too long. 
Congress has gone on record since the early 1980s against harsh Iranian 
treatment of the Baha'is, and it is important that we do so again. 
Iran's leaders must understand that their anti-Baha'i policies are 
being closely watched by the international community. Therefore, Mr. 
Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 257.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from the Virgin 
Islands (Mrs. Christensen).
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. 
Con. Res. 257, concerning the emancipation of the Iranian Baha'i 
community. Mr. Speaker, the Baha'i faith is the most recent world 
religion. Its founder, a Persian nobleman, declared his mission in 
1863, proclaiming he was the promised one of all religions who would 
usher in a new age of peace for all mankind. Among Bahaullah's most 
fundamental teachings are oneness of God, oneness of the foundation of 
all religions, oneness of mankind and all peoples are equal in the 
sight of God.
  The Baha'i faith was established in my district, the U.S. Virgin 
Islands, in 1954, with the settlement of pioneers on St. Thomas. The 
first local spiritual assembly of the Baha'i of St. Thomas was 
incorporated in 1965. The Baha'i of the Virgin Islands have been and 
are active in, among other things, providing education and enrichment 
programs for young children and adults, working with the Interfaith 
Coalitions on St. Thomas and St. Croix, as well as assisting in 
hurricane recovery efforts.
  Mr. Speaker, the Baha'i community of the Virgin Islands strongly 
supports House Concurrent Resolution 257 because it would condemn the 
repressive anti-Baha'i policies and actions of the government of Iran, 
and expresses concern that individual Baha'i continue to suffer from 
severely repressive and discriminatory government actions, including 
executions and death sentences, solely on account of their religion.
  I thank my colleagues for supporting this important resolution.
  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to strongly support H. Con. Res. 257, 
concerning the emancipation of the Iranian Baha'i community.
  Thousands of human rights abuses take place around the world on a 
daily basis. Almost all go unnoticed by the U.S. media. The Baha'is of 
Iran are one such group.
  Many in Congress have worked closely with the National Spiritual 
Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States to bring attention to this 
situation. The Baha'i faith was founded in what was Persia in the 
1840's and has grown to the largest religious minority in Iran. In the 
United States today, there are approximately 300,000 Baha'is. More than 
90 percent are native born, and many of the remainder are refugees from 
Iran who have fled persecution.
  One of these refugees is Firuz Kazemzadeh, who for over 30 years was 
the elected leader of the Baha'is in the United States, until he 
stepped down 2 years ago. Dr. Kazemzadeh immigrated to the United 
States from Iran in the 1950's and became a professor of history at 
Yale University. He has devoted a great deal of his time and efforts to 
improving the condition of his fellow Baha'is in Iran. He has quietly, 
in his way, been a tremendously effective fighter for his fellow 
Baha'is and has clearly saved many Bahai lives and much Bahai 
suffering. I would like to specifically commend Dr. Kazemzadeh for his 
decades of work helping the Baha'is.
  Baha'is have suffered persecution since their religion was founded, 
but the situation gravely worsened in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic 
Revolution. Many of the leaders of the Baha'i community were jailed at 
that time and many were executed solely for their religious beliefs. 
The fact the Baha'i community has survived in Iran over the past 20 
years is a testament to the Baha'i people and their commitment to their 
faith.
  This adverse situation for the Baha'i community could be completely 
reversed by the Iranian Government at any time. The repression of the 
Baha'is is spearheaded by the religious government of Iran in the form 
of laws and regulations that explicitly deny Baha'i basic rights 
accorded to other citizens of Iran, including other religious 
minorities. Religious intolerance has caused the world's people untold 
suffering and its presence is felt across the entire world. But in Iran 
it is institutionalized and written in law. And it is not only 
discrimination. In Iran it can mean torture, imprisonment, and death.
  H. Con. Res. 157, similar to ones passed in previous sessions of 
Congress, calls on the Government of Iran to emancipate the Baha'is and 
afford to them in practice rights which should be inalienable to any 
human being which they are being denied. Before this administration 
speaks about opening relations with Iran and the positive reforms which 
are supposed to be taking place in that country, the Baha'is must be 
granted the same rights and privileges as all other Iranian citizens.
  I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) for his dedication 
to human rights and to the Baha'is and to the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Lantos), the gentleman from New Jersey (Chris Smith) and the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for again playing a leading role in 
bringing this resolution to the floor. Each of them have been dedicated 
leaders for the basic human rights of every person on earth. One of the 
real privileges and honors of being a Member of this body has been to 
serve side by side and work for human rights with these outstanding 
leaders. I urge Members to support this resolution.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, the repression of the Baha'i community in 
Iran is one of the most egregious ongoing violations of human rights, 
and I am very pleased that we are calling attention to it today. I 
first want to commend the gentleman from New York, the Chairman of the 
International Relations Committee, (Mr. Gilman) for his bringing this 
important resolution to the floor today.
  I also want to thank particularly the sponsor of the bill, my good 
friend and colleagues from Illinois, Mr. Porter. I have had the very 
good fortune over the past 20 years of working very closely with John 
Porter on a vast number of human rights issues, and I commend him for 
his outstanding dedication to human rights. He has unwaveringly worked 
to alleviate the suffering of people around the world, and thanks to 
his efforts we can honestly say that the world today is a better place.
  Mr. Speaker, one of the human rights issues that John Porter has 
championed since the day he was elected to the Congress is the 
situation of the Baha'is in Iran. The Baha'i has suffered greatly since 
Iran's Revolution in 1979. The constitution created by the Ayatollahs 
establishes Islam as the state religion of Iran. It also recognizes 
Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians--religions that flourished in Persia 
before Islam--as ``protected religious minorities'' which are afforded 
legal rights. Iran's 350,000 Baha'i however, are not afforded these 
protections, and they enjoy no legal rights whatsoever.
  Mr. Speaker, this blatant, officially sanctioned discriminations has 
far-reaching and inhuman consequences. until recently, Baha'i marriages 
have not been recognized in Iran. As a consequence, no Baha'i couple 
married according to their own religious rites since 1980 are legally 
married in the eyes of the Iranian government. The women have been 
liable to charges of prostitution and Baha'i children are considered 
illegitimate. It is not legal for property to be passed within Baha'i 
families. Baha'is cannot enroll in universities. Baha'is cannot hold 
government jobs, and those that once did are denied state pensions.
  Baha'is cannot sue in the country's court, and they are not legally 
recognized to defend themselves even if they are sued. Baha'is 
generally cannot receive Iranian passports, which note the holder's 
religion. Baha'is are denied the right to assembly or to maintain 
administrative institutions. Since the Baha'i faith has no clergy, the 
inability to meet and elect officers threaten the very existence of the 
faith

[[Page H7753]]

in Iran. Baha'is cannot teach or practice their faith or maintain 
contacts with their coreligionists abroad.
  Mr. Speaker, I could go on listing the abuses and atrocities to which 
the Baha'i in Iran are subjected, but these obvious violations of the 
most basic of human rights are a clear indication of the magnitude of 
the abuses that Baha'is in Iran face daily. I strongly support this 
resolution, which highlights these abuses and calls on the Government 
of Iran to emancipate the Baha'i community. I urge my colleagues to 
support this resolution, and I call on the Government of Iran to 
recognize the rights of Baha'is and afford them the rights by other 
Iranian citizens.
  Mr. HILLIARD. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Linder). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
257.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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