S.Res. 80

A resolution condemning the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights.

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III

112th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. RES. 80

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

March 1, 2011

Mr. Kirk (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Kohl, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Johanns, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Leahy, Ms. Collins, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Begich, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Moran, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Levin, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Casey, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Tester, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Bennet, Ms. Klobuchar, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

March 28, 2012

Reported by Mr. Kerry, without amendment

March 29, 2012

Considered and agreed to with an amended preamble

RESOLUTION

Condemning the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights.

Whereas, in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2006, 2008, and 2009, 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 2010 Department of State International Religious Freedom Report stated, Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, more than 200 Baha'is have been killed, and many have faced regular raids and confiscation of property.;

Whereas the 2009 Department of State Human Rights Report stated, The government [of Iran] continued to repress Baha'is and prevent them from meeting in homes to worship. It banned them from government and military leadership posts, the social pension system, and public schools and universities unless they concealed their faith.;

Whereas, on October 15, 2010, the United Nations Secretary-General issued a special report on human rights in Iran, stating that the Baha'i, who comprise the country's largest non-Muslim religious minority, face multiple forms of discrimination and harassment, including denial of employment, Government benefits and access to higher education;

Whereas, on December 21, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/65/226) noting serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations in Iran, including against the Baha'i community;

Whereas, in November 2007, the Ministry of Information of Iran in Shiraz jailed Baha'is Ms. Raha Sabet, 33, Mr. Sasan Taqva, 32, and Ms. Haleh Roohi, 29, for educating underprivileged children, and gave them 4-year prison terms;

Whereas Ms. Sabet remains imprisoned in Iran;

Whereas Ms. Sabet, Mr. Taqva, and Ms. Roohi were targeted solely on the basis of their religion;

Whereas, in March and May of 2008, intelligence officials of the Government of Iran in Mashhad and Tehran arrested and imprisoned Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm, the members of the coordinating group for the Baha'i community in Iran;

Whereas, in August 2010, the Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced the 7 Baha’i leaders to 20-year prison terms on charges of spying for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, propaganda against the regime and spreading corruption on earth;

Whereas the lawyer for these 7 leaders, Mrs. Shirin Ebadi, the Nobel Laureate, has been denied all access to the prisoners and their files;

Whereas these 7 Baha'i leaders were targeted solely on the basis of their religion;

Whereas, in February 2011, the Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced human rights activist and follower of the Baha’i faith, Navid Khanjani, to a 12-year prison term on charges of propaganda against the regime by publishing news, reports, and interviews with foreign TV and radio, among others;

Whereas the Government of Iran is party to the International Covenants on Human Rights; 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 the officials of the Government of Iran and other individuals who are responsible for continuing and severe violations of human rights and religious freedom in Iran: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate—

(1)

condemns the Government of Iran for its 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 seven leaders and all other prisoners held solely on account of their religion, including Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Vahid Tizfahm, Ms. Raha Sabet, and Mr. Navid Khanjani;

(3)

calls on the President and Secretary of State, in cooperation with the international community, 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, including Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Vahid Tizfahm, Ms. Raha Sabet, and Mr. Navid Khanjani; and

(4)

urges the President and Secretary of State to utilize measures, such as those available under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 and Executive Order 13553, to sanction officials of the Government of Iran and other individuals directly responsible for egregious human rights violations in Iran, including against the Baha'i community.