[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 29 (Tuesday, March 1, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S1062]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 80--CONDEMNING THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN FOR ITS STATE-
    SPONSORED PERSECUTION OF ITS BAHA'I MINORITY AND ITS CONTINUED 
        VIOLATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS

  Mr. KIRK (for himself and Mr. Durbin) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                               S. Res. 80

       Whereas, in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 
     2006, 2008, and 2009, 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 the 2010 Department of State International 
     Religious Freedom Report stated, ``Since the 1979 Islamic 
     Revolution, more than 200 Baha'is have been killed, and many 
     have faced regular raids and confiscation of property.'';
       Whereas the 2009 Department of State Human Rights Report 
     stated, ``The government [of Iran] continued to repress 
     Baha'is and prevent them from meeting in homes to worship. It 
     banned them from government and military leadership posts, 
     the social pension system, and public schools and 
     universities unless they concealed their faith.'';
       Whereas, on October 15, 2010, the United Nations Secretary-
     General issued a special report on human rights in Iran, 
     stating that ``the Baha'i, who comprise the country's largest 
     non-Muslim religious minority, face multiple forms of 
     discrimination and harassment, including denial of 
     employment, Government benefits and access to higher 
     education'';
       Whereas, on December 21, 2010, the United Nations General 
     Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/65/226) noting ``serious 
     ongoing and recurring human rights violations'' in Iran, 
     including against the Baha'i community;
       Whereas, in November 2007, the Ministry of Information of 
     Iran in Shiraz jailed Baha'is Ms. Raha Sabet, 33, Mr. Sasan 
     Taqva, 32, and Ms. Haleh Roohi, 29, for educating 
     underprivileged children, and gave them 4-year prison terms;
       Whereas Ms. Sabet remains imprisoned in Iran;
       Whereas Ms. Sabet, Mr. Taqva, and Ms. Roohi were targeted 
     solely on the basis of their religion;
       Whereas, in March and May of 2008, intelligence officials 
     of the Government of Iran in Mashhad and Tehran arrested and 
     imprisoned Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, 
     Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, 
     Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm, the members of the 
     coordinating group for the Baha'i community in Iran;
       Whereas, in August 2010, the Revolutionary Court in Tehran 
     sentenced the 7 Baha'i leaders to 20-year prison terms on 
     charges of ``spying for Israel, insulting religious 
     sanctities, propaganda against the regime and spreading 
     corruption on earth'';
       Whereas the lawyer for these 7 leaders, Mrs. Shirin Ebadi, 
     the Nobel Laureate, has been denied all access to the 
     prisoners and their files;
       Whereas these 7 Baha'i leaders were targeted solely on the 
     basis of their religion;
       Whereas, in February 2011, the Revolutionary Court in 
     Tehran sentenced human rights activist and follower of the 
     Baha'i faith, Navid Khanjani, to a 12-year prison term on 
     charges of ``propaganda against the regime by publishing 
     news, reports, and interviews with foreign TV and radio,'' 
     among others;
       Whereas the Government of Iran is party to the 
     International Covenants on Human Rights; and
       Whereas the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, 
     and Divestment Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-195) authorizes 
     the President and the Secretary of State to impose sanctions 
     on ``the officials of the Government of Iran and other 
     individuals who are responsible for continuing and severe 
     violations of human rights and religious freedom in Iran'': 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate
       (1) condemns the Government of Iran for its 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 to immediately release 
     the seven leaders and all other prisoners held solely on 
     account of their religion, including Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, 
     Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, 
     Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Vahid Tizfahm, 
     Ms. Raha Sabet, and Mr. Navid Khanjani;
       (3) calls on the President and Secretary of State, in 
     cooperation with the international community, 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, including Mrs. Fariba 
     Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. 
     Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. 
     Vahid Tizfahm, Ms. Raha Sabet, and Mr. Navid Khanjani; and
       (4) urges the President and Secretary of State to utilize 
     all available measures, such as those available under the 
     Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment 
     Act of 2010 and Executive Order 13553, to sanction officials 
     of the Government of Iran and other individuals directly 
     responsible for egregious human rights violations in Iran, 
     including against the Baha'i community.

  Mr. KIRK. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce a bipartisan 
resolution with my colleague Senator Durbin condemning the government 
of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of the Baha'i minority.
  Founded in Iran in 1844, the Baha'i faith now has more than 5 million 
adherents in 236 countries and territories. The Baha'is comprise the 
largest religious minority in Iran.
  The Baha'is preach tolerance, diversity and equality. Yet since the 
Islamic Revolution of 1979, the Baha'is have faced brutal and 
unrelenting persecution in Iran. According to the U.S. State 
Department, more than 200 Baha'is have been killed since 1979.
  The Baha'is are regularly denied employment, access to higher 
education, and face multiple forms of discrimination and harassment.
  In August 2010, the Iranian government sentenced seven leaders of 
Iran's Baha'i community to 20-year prison terms on charges of ``spying 
for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, propaganda against the 
regime and spreading corruption on earth.'' Their lawyer has been 
denied all access to the Baha'i prisoners and their files. Last month, 
the Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced a Baha'i human rights 
activist, Navid Khanjani, to a 12-year prison term on charges that 
included ``propaganda against the regime by publishing news, reports, 
and interviews with foreign TV and radio.''
  The United States and the international community need to act now.
  The bipartisan resolution condemns the Iranian regime's continued 
persecution of its Baha'i minority, calls on the regime to release 
Baha'i political prisoners and urges President Obama and Secretary 
Clinton to designate Iranian officials and other individuals directly 
responsible for egregious human rights violations in Iran.
  The plight of Baha'is in Iran should be deeply personal to all 
Americans. I call on the administration to elevate human rights in 
Iran, including the plight of Iranian Baha'is, to the top of the 
international agenda.

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