[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.

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