[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 84 (Thursday, June 13, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4494-S4495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUPPORTING POLITICAL REFORM IN IRAN
Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent the Foreign Relations Committee be
discharged from further consideration of and the Senate now proceed to
S. Res. 154.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 154) supporting political reform in
Iran and for other purposes.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the Hoeven substitute
amendment be agreed to; the resolution, as amended, be agreed to; the
Hoeven amendment to the preamble be agreed to; the preamble, as
amended, be agreed to; the title amendment be agreed to; and the
motions to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendments (Nos. 1279, 1280, and 1281) were agreed to, as
follows:
amendment no. 1279
(Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)
Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the
following: ``That the Senate--
(1) recalls Senate Resolution 386, 112th Congress, agreed
to March 5, 2012, which called for free and fair elections in
Iran;
(2) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to
democracy, human rights, civil liberties, and the rule of
law, including the universal rights of freedom of assembly,
freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of
association;
(3) expresses support for freedom, human rights, civil
liberties, and rule of law in Iran, and for elections that
are free and fair;
(4) 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;
(5) condemns the widespread human rights violations of the
Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran;
(6) calls on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
to respect freedom of expression and association in Iran by--
(A) holding elections that are free, fair, and responsive
to the people of Iran, including by refraining from
disqualifying candidates for political reasons;
(B) 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 freedom of
the press, assembly, association, and expression;
(C) lifting legislative restrictions on freedom of the
press, assembly, association, and expression; and
(D) allowing the Internet to remain free and open and
allowing domestic and international media to operate freely;
(7) calls on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
to allow international election monitors to be present for
the June 14, 2013, election; and
(8) urges the President of the United States, the Secretary
of State, and other world leaders--
(A) to express support for the rights and freedoms of the
people of Iran, including to democratic self-government;
(B) to engage with the people of Iran and support their
efforts to promote human rights and democratic reform,
including supporting civil society organizations that promote
democracy and governance;
(C) to support policies and programs that preserve free and
open access to the Internet in Iran; and
(D) to condemn elections that are not free and fair and
that do not meet international standards.
AMENDMENT NO. 1280
(Purpose: To amend the preamble)
Strike the preamble and insert the following:
Whereas democracy, human rights, and civil liberties are
universal values and fundamental principles of the foreign
policy of the United States;
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 in which power does not derive from
free and fair elections lack democratic legitimacy;
Whereas elections in Iran are marred by the
disqualification of candidates based on their political
views, the absence of credible international observers,
widespread intimidation and repression of candidates,
political parties, and citizens, and systemic electoral fraud
and manipulation;
Whereas elections in Iran consistently involve severe
restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, and
association, including censorship, surveillance, disruptions
in telecommunications, and the absence of a free media;
Whereas the current president of Iran came to office
through an election on June 12, 2009, that was widely
condemned in Iran and throughout the world as neither free
nor fair and provoked large-scale peaceful protests
throughout Iran;
Whereas authorities in Iran continue to hold several
candidates from the 2009 election under house arrest;
Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
banned more than 2,200 candidates from participating in the
March 2, 2012, parliamentary elections and refused to allow
domestic or international election observers to oversee those
elections;
Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
seeks to prevent the people of Iran from accessing news and
information by disrupting access to the Internet, including
blocking e-mail and social networking sites, limiting access
to foreign news and websites, and developing a national
Internet that will facilitate government censorship of news
and information, and by jamming international broadcasts such
as the Voice of America Persian News Network and Radio Farda,
a Persian language broadcast of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty;
Whereas authorities in Iran have announced that a
presidential election will be held on June 14, 2013; and
Whereas the Guardian Council and the Supreme Leader of Iran
have blocked numerous candidates from participating in the
June 14, 2013, presidential election: Now, therefore be it
AMENDMENT NO. 1281
(Purpose: To amend the title)
Amend the title so as to read: ``Calling for free and fair
elections in Iran, and for other purposes.''.
The resolution (S. Res. 154), as amended, was agreed to.
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
The resolution, as amended, with its preamble, as amended, and its
title, as amended, is as follows:
[[Page S4495]]
S. Res. 154
Whereas democracy, human rights, and civil liberties are
universal values and fundamental principles of the foreign
policy of the United States;
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 in which power does not derive from
free and fair elections lack democratic legitimacy;
Whereas elections in Iran are marred by the
disqualification of candidates based on their political
views, the absence of credible international observers,
widespread intimidation and repression of candidates,
political parties, and citizens, and systemic electoral fraud
and manipulation;
Whereas elections in Iran consistently involve severe
restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, and
association, including censorship, surveillance, disruptions
in telecommunications, and the absence of a free media;
Whereas the current president of Iran came to office
through an election on June 12, 2009, that was widely
condemned in Iran and throughout the world as neither free
nor fair and provoked large-scale peaceful protests
throughout Iran;
Whereas authorities in Iran continue to hold several
candidates from the 2009 election under house arrest;
Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
banned more than 2,200 candidates from participating in the
March 2, 2012, parliamentary elections and refused to allow
domestic or international election observers to oversee those
elections;
Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
seeks to prevent the people of Iran from accessing news and
information by disrupting access to the Internet, including
blocking e-mail and social networking sites, limiting access
to foreign news and websites, and developing a national
Internet that will facilitate government censorship of news
and information, and by jamming international broadcasts such
as the Voice of America Persian News Network and Radio Farda,
a Persian language broadcast of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty;
Whereas authorities in Iran have announced that a
presidential election will be held on June 14, 2013; and
Whereas the Guardian Council and the Supreme Leader of Iran
have blocked numerous candidates from participating in the
June 14, 2013, presidential election: Now, therefore be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recalls Senate Resolution 386, 112th Congress, agreed
to March 5, 2012, which called for free and fair elections in
Iran;
(2) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to
democracy, human rights, civil liberties, and the rule of
law, including the universal rights of freedom of assembly,
freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of
association;
(3) expresses support for freedom, human rights, civil
liberties, and rule of law in Iran, and for elections that
are free and fair;
(4) 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;
(5) condemns the widespread human rights violations of the
Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran;
(6) calls on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
to respect freedom of expression and association in Iran by--
(A) holding elections that are free, fair, and responsive
to the people of Iran, including by refraining from
disqualifying candidates for political reasons;
(B) 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 freedom of
the press, assembly, association, and expression;
(C) lifting legislative restrictions on freedom of the
press, assembly, association, and expression; and
(D) allowing the Internet to remain free and open and
allowing domestic and international media to operate freely;
(7) calls on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
to allow international election monitors to be present for
the June 14, 2013, election; and
(8) urges the President of the United States, the Secretary
of State, and other world leaders--
(A) to express support for the rights and freedoms of the
people of Iran, including to democratic self-government;
(B) to engage with the people of Iran and support their
efforts to promote human rights and democratic reform,
including supporting civil society organizations that promote
democracy and governance;
(C) to support policies and programs that preserve free and
open access to the Internet in Iran; and
(D) to condemn elections that are not free and fair and
that do not meet international standards.
____________________