[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 21 (Thursday, February 11, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

SENATE RESOLUTION 415--CALLING FOR A RENEWED FOCUS ON THE GOVERNMENT OF 
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN'S VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED 
   HUMAN RIGHTS AS FOUND IN THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

  Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Kaufman, Mr. 
Levin, and Mr. Kerry) submitted the following resolution, which was 
considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 415

       Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has 
     violated international standards for human rights by using 
     violence to disperse peaceful assemblies by its own citizens;
       Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran 
     suppressed peaceful commemorations by members of Iran's Green 
     Movement at the anniversary of Iran's Islamic revolution on 
     February 11, 2010;
       Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran's 
     sustained campaign of violence against Iranian citizens who 
     have peacefully protested the irregularities in the flawed 
     Iranian presidential elections of June 12, 2009 has 
     demonstrated to the world that the present Iranian regime is 
     fully capable of widespread violence against its own 
     citizens;
       Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran 
     currently has 65 journalists and bloggers imprisoned, more 
     than any single country in the world, according to Reporters 
     without Borders and in the past week arrested 10 journalists;
       Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has 
     restricted access to the internet, including its recent 
     announcement to permanently block Google's Gmail service;
       Whereas Iranian citizens' right to due process has been 
     violated, with the judiciary detaining government critics and 
     religious minorities, and ordering executions of peaceful 
     demonstrators;
       Whereas the use of arbitrary detention and the infliction 
     of cruel and degrading punishments by the Iranian authorities 
     are in direct violation of Articles 7, 9 and 10 of the 
     International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 
     as well as Articles 22 (the right to human dignity), 36 
     (Sentencing in accordance with the law), 38 (prohibition of 
     torture) and 39 (the rights of arrested persons) of the 
     Iranian Constitution.
       Resolved, That the Senate of the United States:
       (1) Pays tribute to the courageous advocates for democracy 
     and human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran who are 
     engaged in peaceful efforts to encourage democratic reform;
       (2) notes that it is the right of the people of the Islamic 
     Republic of Iran to peacefully assemble and to express their 
     opinions and aspirations without intimidation, repression, 
     and violence;
       (3) supports freedom of speech in the Islamic Republic of 
     Iran as elsewhere and the ability of journalists and bloggers 
     to report without repression by government authorities;
       (4) desires that the men and women of Iran be able to enjoy 
     due process in the Iranian judicial system including the 
     right to a fair trial;
       (5) expresses serious concern over the Government of the 
     Islamic Republic of Iran's brutal suppression of its citizens 
     through censorship, imprisonment, and continued acts of 
     violence;
       (6) denounces the atmosphere of impunity in the Islamic 
     Republic of Iran for those who employ intimidation, 
     harassment, or violence to restrict and suppress freedom of 
     speech, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and 
     freedom of the press;
       (7) urges the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to 
     fully observe the ICCPR, which has been ratified by the 
     Islamic Republic of 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''.
       (8) calls upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to abide by the 
     resolutions adopted by the U.N. General Assembly, in 
     particular the resolution on the situation of human rights in 
     the Islamic Republic of Iran of December 2009;
       (9) communicates deep concern that, despite the Islamic 
     Republic of Iran's standing invitation to all thematic 
     special procedures mandate holders, it has not fulfilled any 
     requests from those special mechanisms to visit the country 
     in four years and has not answered numerous communications 
     from those special mechanisms, and strongly urges the 
     Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to fully cooperate 
     with the special mechanisms, especially the Special 
     Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, 
     the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or 
     degrading treatment or punishment, the Special Rapporteur on 
     the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of 
     opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the 
     situation of human rights defenders, the Working Group on 
     Arbitrary Detention and the Working Group on Enforced or 
     Involuntary Disappearances;
       (10) encourages the U.N. Human Rights Council to fully 
     examine these issues during its Universal Periodic Review of 
     the Islamic Republic of Iran on February 15, 2010.

                          ____________________