[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 35 (Monday, March 5, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S1399]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CALLING FOR FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS IN IRAN
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign
Relations Committee be discharged and the Senate now proceed to
consideration of S. Res. 386.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 386) calling for free and fair
elections in Iran, and for other purposes.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the
resolution, and I urge its adoption.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the resolution.
The resolution (S. Res. 386) was agreed to.
Mr. DURBIN. I ask unanimous consent that the preamble be agreed to
and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 386
Whereas democracy, human rights, and civil liberties are
universal values and fundamental principles of United States
foreign policy;
Whereas an essential element of democratic self-government
is for leaders to be chosen and regularly held accountable
through elections that are organized and conducted in a
manner that is free, fair, inclusive, and consistent with
international standards;
Whereas governments whose power does not derive from free
and fair elections lack democratic legitimacy;
Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a
signatory to the United Nations International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, adopted December 16, 1966
(ICCPR), which states that every citizen has the right to
vote ``at genuine periodic elections'' that reflect ``the
free expression of the will of the electors'';
Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
regularly violates its obligations under the ICCPR, holding
elections that are neither free nor fair nor consistent with
international standards;
Whereas elections in Iran are marred by the
disqualification of candidates based on their political
views; the absence of credible international observers;
severe restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, and
association, including censorship, surveillance, and
disruptions in telecommunications, and the absence of a free
media; widespread intimidation and repression of candidates,
political parties, and citizens; and systemic electoral fraud
and manipulation;
Whereas the last nationwide election held in Iran, on June
12, 2009, was widely condemned inside Iran and throughout the
world as neither free nor fair and provoked large-scale
peaceful protests throughout Iran;
Whereas, following the June 12, 2009, election, the
Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran responded to
peaceful protests with a large-scale campaign of politically
motivated violence, intimidation, and repression, including
acts of torture, cruel and degrading treatment in detention,
rape, executions, extrajudicial killings, and indefinite
detention;
Whereas, on December 26, 2011, the United Nations General
Assembly passed a resolution denouncing the serious human
rights abuses occurring in the Islamic Republic of Iran;
Whereas authorities in Iran continue to hold several
candidates from the 2009 election in indefinite detention;
Whereas authorities in Iran have announced that nationwide
parliamentary elections will be held on March 2, 2012;
Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has
banned more than 2,200 candidates from participating in the
March 2, 2012, elections, including current members of
parliament;
Whereas no domestic or international election observers are
scheduled to oversee the March 2, 2012, elections;
Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
continues to hold leading opposition figures under house
arrest;
Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
seeks to prevent the people of Iran from accessing news and
information by incarcerating more journalists than any other
country in the world, according to a 2011 report from the
Committee to Protect Journalists; disrupting access to the
Internet, including blocking e-mail and social networking
sites and limiting access to foreign news and websites,
developing a national Internet that will facilitate
government censorship of news and information, and jamming
international broadcasts such as the Voice of America's
Persian News Network and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's
Radio Farda; and
Whereas opposition groups in Iran have announced they will
boycott the March 2, 2012, election because they believe it
will be neither free nor fair nor consistent with
international standards: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to
democracy, human rights, civil liberties, and rule of law,
including the universal rights of freedom of assembly,
freedom of speech, and freedom of association;
(2) expresses support for freedom, human rights, civil
liberties, and rule of law in Iran, and for elections that
are free, fair, and meet international standards, including
granting independent international and domestic electoral
observers unrestricted access to polling and counting
stations;
(3) expresses strong support for the people of Iran in
their peaceful calls for a representative and responsive
democratic government that respects human rights, civil
liberties, and the rule of law;
(4) reminds the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
of its obligations under the international covenants to which
it is a signatory to hold elections that are free and fair;
(5) condemns the Government of the Islamic Republic of
Iran's widespread human rights violations;
(6) calls on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
to respect freedom of expression and association in Iran by--
(A) ending arbitrary detention, torture, and other forms of
harassment against media professionals, human rights
defenders and activists, and opposition figures, and
releasing all individuals detained for exercising universally
recognized human rights;
(B) lifting legislative restrictions on freedoms of
assembly, association, and expression; and
(C) allowing the Internet to remain free and open and
allowing domestic and international media to operate freely;
(7) further calls on the Government of the Islamic Republic
of Iran to allow international election monitors to be
present for the March 2, 2012, elections; and
(8) urges the President, the Secretary of State, and other
world leaders--
(A) to express support for the universal rights and
freedoms of the people of Iran, including to democratic self-
government;
(B) to broaden engagement with the people of Iran and
support efforts in the country to help promote human rights
and democratic reform, including by providing appropriate
funding to civil society organizations for democracy and
governance activities; and
(C) to condemn elections that are not free and fair and
that do not meet international standards.
____________________