[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 91 (Thursday, May 14, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2455-S2456]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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   SENATE RESOLUTION 578--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

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

                              S. Res. 578

       Whereas in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 
     2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 
     and 2018, Congress declared that it--
       (1) deplored the religious persecution by the Government of 
     Iran of the Baha'i community; and

[[Page S2456]]

       (2) would hold the Government of Iran responsible for 
     upholding the rights of all Iranian nationals, including 
     members of the Baha'i Faith;
       Whereas according to the United States Commission on 
     International Religious Freedom's 2017 annual report, ``Since 
     1979, [Iranian] authorities have killed or executed more than 
     200 Baha'i leaders, and more than 10,000 [Baha'i] have been 
     dismissed from government and university jobs [in Iran]'';
       Whereas the Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur 
     on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of 
     Iran (A/74/188), dated July 18, 2019, provides, in part--
       (1) the Iranian authorities and the Iranian criminal 
     justice system regard the Baha'is as ``unprotected 
     infidels'';
       (2) ``the Baha'i Faith is regarded as a `misguided sect' 
     and Baha'i worship and religious practices are deemed 
     heresy'';
       (3) ``Baha'is have been murdered with impunity and 
     violations of their human rights have not been 
     investigated.'';
       (4) members of the Baha'i Faith ``frequently face charges 
     such as `breaching national security', `propaganda against 
     the holy regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran' or 
     `propaganda activities against the regime in the interests of 
     the Baha'i sect' '';
       (5) ``Since August 2005, more than 1,168 Baha'is have been 
     arrested and charged with vaguely worded offences.'';
       (6) ``There were a total of 95 Baha'is reportedly arrested 
     in 2018, compared with at least 84 in 2017 and 81 in 2016.'';
       (7) ``On 1 January 2019, the court of appeal of Isfahan 
     reportedly condemned, in separate judgments, nine Baha'i 
     citizens to a total of 48 years of prison. They had been 
     charged with `membership of the illegal Baha'i community and 
     propaganda against the regime by spreading the Baha'i Faith 
     in the society.' '';
       (8) Since 2007, in response to a letter from the Security 
     Unit of the Public Place Supervision Office of the Islamic 
     Republic of Iran to police commanders throughout the country, 
     Baha'is have been banned from specific professions, to halt 
     their entry into high earning businesses; and
       (9) ``Since 2013, there have been more than 803 incidents 
     of violations of economic rights of the Baha'is, including 
     arbitrary shop closures, unfair dismissals from employment 
     and the actual or threatened revocation of business 
     licenses.'';
       Whereas the Iran section of the Department of State's 2018 
     Report on International Religious Freedom provides, in part--
       (1) ``[N]on-Shia Muslims and those affiliated with a 
     religion other than Islam, especially members of the Baha'i 
     community, continued to face societal discrimination and 
     harassment, and employers experienced social pressures not to 
     hire Baha'is or to dismiss them from their private sector 
     jobs.''; and
       (2) ``The law bars Baha'is from founding their own 
     educational institutions. A Ministry of Science, Research, 
     and Technology order requires universities to exclude Baha'is 
     from access to higher education or expel them if their 
     religious affiliation becomes known.'';
       Whereas on March 11, 2020, the Department of State released 
     the 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which 
     provides, in part--
       (1) Iranian ``[a]uthorities barred Baha'i students from 
     higher education''; and
       (2) ``According to a Baha'i International Community report 
     April 2018, Iranian authorities directed authorities in 
     Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen to harass and detain Baha'is 
     because of their religious affiliation'';
       Whereas the Baha'i International Community has documented 
     more than 26,000 items of anti-Baha'i propaganda in Iran's 
     official and semi-official media since January 2014.
       Whereas since 2019, the Government of Iran has excluded 
     Baha'is from receiving national identification cards, which 
     are required for accessing basic everyday necessities, 
     including obtaining a passport, making bank transactions, and 
     getting work permits.
       Whereas the Iranian Parliament (formally known as the 
     ``Islamic Consultative Assembly'') is considering a bill to 
     amend Articles 499 and 500 of Book 5 of the Islamic Penal 
     Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran to criminalize all 
     activities in support of any religious minority that is not 
     recognized under Iran's constitution.
       Whereas the Government of Iran is a party to the 
     International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, done at 
     New York December 19, 1966, and the International Covenant on 
     Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, done at New York 
     December 16, 1966, and is in violation of its obligations 
     under such covenants;
       Whereas section 105 of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, 
     Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8514) 
     authorizes the President to impose sanctions on individuals 
     who are ``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''; and
       Whereas the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights 
     Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-158) amends and expands the 
     authorities established under the Comprehensive Iran 
     Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (Public 
     Law 111-195) to sanction Iranian human rights abusers:
       Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns the Government of Iran's state-sponsored 
     persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued 
     violation of the International Covenant on Civil and 
     Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, 
     Social and Cultural Rights;
       (2) calls on the Government of Iran --
       (A) to immediately release the imprisoned or detained 
     Baha'is and all other prisoners held solely on account of 
     their religion;
       (B) to end its state-sponsored campaign of hate propaganda 
     against the Baha'is; and
       (C) to reverse state-imposed policies denying equal 
     opportunities to higher education, earning a livelihood, due 
     process under the law, and the free exercise of religious 
     practices;
       (3) calls on the President and the Secretary of State, in 
     cooperation with responsible nations--
       (A) to immediately condemn the Government of Iran's 
     continued violation of human rights; and
       (B) to demand the immediate release of prisoners held 
     solely on account of their religion; and
       (4) urges the President and the Secretary of State to 
     utilize available authorities to impose sanctions on 
     officials of the Government of Iran and other individuals 
     directly responsible for serious human rights abuses, 
     including abuses against the Iranian Baha'i community.

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