[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 143 (Wednesday, September 21, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H5743-H5745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONDEMNING IRAN'S PERSECUTION OF ITS BAHA'I MINORITY AND CONTINUED
VIOLATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on
Foreign Affairs be discharged from further consideration of the
resolution (H. Res. 220) condemning the Government of Iran's state-
sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued
violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights, and ask for
its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 220
Whereas, in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996,
2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2013, 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 United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom 2014 Report stated, ``The Baha'i community,
the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran, long has
been subject to particularly severe religious freedom
violations. The government views Baha'is, who number at least
300,000, as `heretics' and consequently they face repression
on the grounds of apostasy.'';
Whereas the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom 2014 Report stated that ``[s]ince 1979,
authorities have killed or executed more than 200 Baha'i
leaders, and more than 10,000 have been dismissed from
government and university jobs'' and ``[m]ore than 700
Baha'is have been arbitrarily arrested since 2005'';
Whereas the Department of State 2013 International
Religious Freedom Report stated that the Government of Iran
``prohibits Baha'is from teaching and practicing their faith
and subjects them to many forms of discrimination not faced
by members of other religious groups'' and ``since the 1979
Islamic Revolution, formally denies Baha'i students access to
higher education'';
Whereas the Department of State 2013 International
Religious Freedom Report stated, ``The government requires
Baha'is to register with the police,'' and ``The government
raided Baha'i homes and businesses and confiscated large
amounts of private and commercial property, as well as
religious materials.'';
Whereas the Department of State 2013 International
Religious Freedom Report stated, ``Baha'is are regularly
denied compensation for injury or criminal victimization and
the right to inherit property.'';
Whereas, on August 27, 2014, the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic
Republic of Iran issued a report (A/69/356), which stated,
``The human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran
remains of concern. Numerous issues flagged by the General
Assembly, the
[[Page H5744]]
United Nations human rights mechanisms and the Secretary-
General persist, and in some cases appear to have worsened,
some recent overtures made by the Administration and the
parliament notwithstanding.'';
Whereas, on December 18, 2014, the United Nations General
Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/69/190), which
``[e]xpresse[d] deep concern'' over ``[c]ontinued
discrimination, persecution and human rights violations
against persons belonging to unrecognized religious
minorities, particularly members of the Baha'i [F]aith . . .
and the effective criminalization of membership in the Baha'i
[F]aith,'' and called upon the Government of Iran to
``emancipate the Baha'i community . . . and to accord all
Baha'is, including those imprisoned because of their beliefs,
the due process of law and the rights that they are
constitutionally guaranteed'';
Whereas, since May of 2008, the Government of Iran has
imprisoned the seven members of the former ad hoc leadership
group of the Baha'i community in Iran, known as the Yaran-i-
Iran, or ``friends of Iran''--Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr.
Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr.
Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, and Mr. Vahid
Tizfahm--and these individuals are serving 20-year prison
terms, the longest sentences given to any current prisoner of
conscience in Iran, on charges including ``spying for Israel,
insulting religious sanctities, propaganda against the regime
and spreading corruption on earth'';
Whereas, beginning in May 2011, officials of the Government
of Iran in 4 cities conducted sweeping raids on the homes of
dozens of individuals associated with the Baha'i Institute
for Higher Education (BIHE) and arrested and detained several
educators associated with BIHE, and 12 BIHE educators are now
serving 4- or 5-year prison terms;
Whereas scores of Baha'i cemeteries have been attacked,
and, in April 2014, Revolutionary Guards began excavating a
Baha'i cemetery in Shiraz, which is the site of 950 graves;
Whereas the Baha'i International Community reported that
there has been a recent surge in anti-Baha'i hate propaganda
in Iranian state-sponsored media outlets, noting that, in
2010 and 2011, approximately 22 anti-Baha'i articles were
appearing every month, and, in 2014, the number of anti-
Baha'i articles rose to approximately 401 per month--18 times
the previous level;
Whereas there are currently 100 Baha'is in prison in Iran;
Whereas the Government of Iran is party to the
International Covenants on Human Rights and is in violation
of its obligations under the Covenants; 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 individuals ``responsible for or complicit in, or
responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise
directing, the commission of serious human rights abuses
against citizens of Iran or their family members on or after
June 12, 2009'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the Government of Iran's 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 7 imprisoned Baha'i leaders, the 12 imprisoned Baha'i
educators, and all other prisoners held solely on account of
their religion;
(3) calls on the President and Secretary of State, in
cooperation with responsible nations, 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; and
(4) urges the President and Secretary of State to utilize
available authorities, including the Comprehensive Iran
Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, to
impose sanctions on officials of the Government of Iran and
other individuals directly responsible for serious human
rights abuses, including abuses against the Baha'i community
of Iran.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Royce
Mr. ROYCE. I have an amendment to the text of the resolution at the
desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
Strike all after the resolved clause and insert the
following:
That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the Government of Iran's 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 7 imprisoned Baha'i leaders, the 8 imprisoned Baha'i
educators, and all other prisoners held solely on account of
their religion;
(3) calls on the President and Secretary of State, in
cooperation with responsible nations, 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; and
(4) urges the President and Secretary of State to utilize
available authorities, including the Comprehensive Iran
Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, to
impose sanctions on officials of the Government of Iran and
other individuals directly responsible for serious human
rights abuses, including abuses against the Baha'i community
of Iran.
Mr. ROYCE (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
to dispense with the reading of the amendment.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
The amendment was agreed to.
The resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
Amendment to the Preamble Offered by Mr. Royce
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment to the preamble at the
desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
Strike the preamble and insert the following:
Whereas, in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996,
2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2013, 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 United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom 2014 Report stated, ``The Baha'i community,
the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran, long has
been subject to particularly severe religious freedom
violations. The government views Baha'is, who number at least
300,000, as `heretics' and consequently they face repression
on the grounds of apostasy.'';
Whereas the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom 2014 Report stated that ``[s]ince 1979,
authorities have killed or executed more than 200 Baha'i
leaders, and more than 10,000 have been dismissed from
government and university jobs'' and ``[m]ore than 700
Baha'is have been arbitrarily arrested since 2005'';
Whereas the Department of State 2013 International
Religious Freedom Report stated that the Government of Iran
``prohibits Baha'is from teaching and practicing their faith
and subjects them to many forms of discrimination not faced
by members of other religious groups'' and ``since the 1979
Islamic Revolution, formally denies Baha'i students access to
higher education'';
Whereas the Department of State 2013 International
Religious Freedom Report stated, ``The government requires
Baha'is to register with the police,'' and ``The government
raided Baha'i homes and businesses and confiscated large
amounts of private and commercial property, as well as
religious materials.'';
Whereas the Department of State 2013 International
Religious Freedom Report stated, ``Baha'is are regularly
denied compensation for injury or criminal victimization and
the right to inherit property.'';
Whereas, on August 27, 2014, the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic
Republic of Iran issued a report (A/69/356), which stated,
``The human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran
remains of concern. Numerous issues flagged by the General
Assembly, the United Nations human rights mechanisms and the
Secretary-General persist, and in some cases appear to have
worsened, some recent overtures made by the Administration
and the parliament notwithstanding.'';
Whereas, on December 18, 2014, the United Nations General
Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/69/190), which
``[e]xpresse[d] deep concern'' over ``[c]ontinued
discrimination, persecution and human rights violations
against persons belonging to unrecognized religious
minorities, particularly members of the Baha'i [F]aith . . .
and the effective criminalization of membership in the Baha'i
[F]aith,'' and called upon the Government of Iran to
``emancipate the Baha'i community . . . and to accord all
Baha'is, including those imprisoned because of their beliefs,
the due process of law and the rights that they are
constitutionally guaranteed'';
Whereas, since May of 2008, the Government of Iran has
imprisoned the seven members of the former ad hoc leadership
group of the Baha'i community in Iran, known as the Yaran-i-
Iran, or ``friends of Iran''--Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr.
Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr.
Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, and Mr. Vahid
Tizfahm--and these individuals are serving 20-year prison
terms, the longest sentences given to any current prisoner of
conscience in Iran, on charges including ``spying for Israel,
insulting religious sanctities, propaganda against the regime
and spreading corruption on earth'';
Whereas, beginning in May 2011, officials of the Government
of Iran in 4 cities conducted sweeping raids on the homes of
dozens of individuals associated with the Baha'i Institute
for Higher Education (BIHE) and arrested and detained several
educators associated with BIHE, and 8 BIHE educators are now
serving 4- or 5-year prison terms;
Whereas scores of Baha'i cemeteries have been attacked,
and, in April 2014, Revolutionary Guards began excavating a
Baha'i cemetery in Shiraz, which is the site of 950 graves;
[[Page H5745]]
Whereas the Baha'i International Community reported that
there has been a recent surge in anti-Baha'i hate propaganda
in Iranian state-sponsored media outlets, noting that, in
2010 and 2011, approximately 22 anti-Baha'i articles were
appearing every month, and, in 2014, the number of anti-
Baha'i articles rose to approximately 401 per month--18 times
the previous level;
Whereas there are currently 60 Baha'is in prison in Iran;
Whereas the Government of Iran is party to the
International Covenants on Human Rights and is in violation
of its obligations under the Covenants; 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 individuals ``responsible for or complicit in, or
responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise
directing, the commission of serious human rights abuses
against citizens of Iran or their family members on or after
June 12, 2009'': Now, therefore, be it
Mr. ROYCE (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
to dispense with the reading.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
The amendment to the preamble was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________