[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 198 (Tuesday, December 22, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13790-S13791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     SENATE RESOLUTION 386--CONDEMNING THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN FOR 
 RESTRICTING AND SUPPRESSING FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, FREEDOM OF SPEECH, 
   FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, AND FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY, AND FOR ITS HUMAN 
                 RIGHTS ABUSES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

  Mr. KAUFMAN (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. McCain, Mr. Dodd, Mr. 
Kyl, Mr. Casey, Mr. Graham, Mr. Levin, Mr. Brownback, and Mr. Hatch) 
submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 386

       Whereas hundreds of thousands of Iranian citizens have 
     engaged in peaceful protest since the June 12, 2009, 
     presidential election in Iran;
       Whereas the Government of Iran has responded to these 
     protests with a concerted campaign of intimidation, 
     repression, and violence, including human rights abuses 
     against Iranian citizens;
       Whereas there have been numerous allegations of torture, 
     rape, imprisonment, and violence perpetrated against Iranian 
     citizens by the Government of Iran since the June 12 
     elections;
       Whereas the Government of Iran has sought to restrict and 
     suppress the legitimate right of the people of Iran to 
     exercise

[[Page S13791]]

     freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of 
     assembly, and freedom of the press;
       Whereas the Government of Iran has monitored, controlled, 
     and censored access to the Internet, and has conducted a 
     campaign of harassment and intimidation through the 
     electronic media;
       Whereas Freedom House assesses Internet and digital media 
     in Iran as ``Not Free,'' and characterizes the Government of 
     Iran as wielding ``one of the world's most sophisticated 
     apparatuses for controlling the internet and other digital 
     technologies'';
       Whereas the Government of Iran is engaged in a range of 
     activities that interfere with, or infringe upon, the right 
     of the people of Iran to access accurate, independent news 
     and information;
       Whereas, according to Amnesty International, the Government 
     of Iran has banned several newspapers, including Farhang-e 
     Ashti, Arman-e Ravabet-e Omomi, Tahlil-e Rooz, and Sarmayeh;
       Whereas the Government of Iran has harassed, arrested, 
     detained, imprisoned, and assaulted numerous Iranian and 
     foreign journalists, publishers, editors, photographers, 
     cameramen, and bloggers;
       Whereas the Government of Iran has prohibited Iranian and 
     non-Iranian news services from distributing reports in Farsi;
       Whereas the Government of Iran has revoked and temporarily 
     suspended the accreditation of foreign journalists to report 
     on current events and news developments in Iran;
       Whereas the Government of Iran has interrupted short 
     message service (SMS), preventing text message communications 
     and blocking Internet sites that utilize such services;
       Whereas the Government of Iran has partially jammed 
     shortwave and medium wave transmissions of Radio Farda, the 
     Persian language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty;
       Whereas the Government of Iran has intermittently jammed 
     satellite broadcasts by Radio Farda, the Voice of America's 
     Persian News Network (PNN), the British Broadcasting 
     Corporation (BBC), and other non-Iranian government news 
     services;
       Whereas the Government of Iran has blocked Web sites and 
     blogs, including social networking, content-sharing, and 
     blogging sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Orkut, 
     Blogger, and Persianblog;
       Whereas the Government of Iran has targeted, blocked, and 
     limited Internet connections and mobile network access to 
     thwart communication in advance of planned demonstrations, 
     and has seized mobile phones that were used to film or 
     document the demonstrations;
       Whereas the Government of Iran has monitored online 
     activities of Iranians and threatened them and their families 
     with punitive action, including citizens of Iran and Iranian-
     Americans living in the United States and elsewhere overseas;
       Whereas, in November 2009, the police forces of the 
     Government of Iran formed a special unit to monitor websites 
     and ``Internet crimes,'' including political offenses;
       Whereas the Victims of Iranian Censorship Act (subtitle D 
     of title XII of Public Law 111-84), which was signed into law 
     on October 28, 2009, stipulates that ``it shall be the policy 
     of the United States to encourage the development of 
     technologies, including Internet Web sites, that facilitate 
     the efforts of the Iranian people to gain access to and share 
     accurate information and exercise freedom of speech, freedom 
     of expressions, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the 
     press, through the Internet or other electronic media'';
       Whereas on December 10, 2009, President Barack Obama 
     affirmed in his statement accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, 
     ``We will bear witness to the quiet dignity of reformers. . 
     .to the hundreds of thousands who have marched silently 
     through the streets of Iran. It is telling that the leaders 
     of these governments fear the aspirations of their own people 
     more than the power of any other nation. And it is the 
     responsibility of all free people and free nations to make 
     clear to these movements that hope and history are on their 
     side.''
       Whereas, on December 18, 2009, the United Nations General 
     Assembly passed a resolution calling on the Government of 
     Iran to respect its human rights obligations, including its 
     obligations under its own constitution as well as those of 
     international human rights law; and
       Whereas, on December 18, 2009, the Department of State 
     issued a statement welcoming the passage of the United 
     Nations resolution which stated, ``The resolution, first 
     adopted last month by the UN Third Committee, expresses deep 
     concern over the brutal response of Iranian authorities to 
     peaceful demonstrations in the wake of the June 12 election. 
     . .Those in Iran who are trying to exercise their universal 
     rights should know that their voices are being heard.'': Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the right of the people of Iran to peacefully 
     express their voices, opinions, and aspirations, despite 
     intimidation, repression, and violence;
       (2) condemns the human rights abuses committed by the 
     Government of Iran against Iranian citizens;
       (3) condemns the efforts of the Government of Iran to 
     restrict and suppress freedom of the press, freedom of 
     speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly;
       (4) condemns online censorship, monitoring, intimidation, 
     and harassment conducted by the Government of Iran, including 
     threats against citizens of Iran and Iranian-Americans living 
     in the United States;
       (5) condemns an atmosphere of impunity in Iran for those 
     who employ censorship, intimidation, harassment, or violence 
     to restrict and suppress freedom of speech, freedom of 
     expression, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press;
       (6) condemns the Government of Iran for violating the 
     International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, done at 
     New York December 16, 1966, and entered into force March 23, 
     1976, which has been ratified by Iran and states, ``Everyone 
     shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right 
     shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information 
     and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either 
     orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or 
     through any other media of his choice.'';
       (7) welcomes the decision made by the Department of State 
     on December 15, 2009, to foster and support the free flow of 
     information to Iranian citizens by recommending that the 
     Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control 
     (OFAC) issue a general license that would authorize downloads 
     of free mass market software to Iran necessary for the 
     exchange of personal communications or sharing of information 
     or both over the Internet as deemed ``essential to the 
     national interest of the United States''; and
       (8) urges the implementation of the Victims of Iranian 
     Censorship Act (subtitle D of title XII of Public Law 111-
     84).

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