III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 368 

Supporting the right of all Iranian citizens to have their voices heard. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 4, 2018 

Mr. CORKER (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. 

JOHNSON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the right of all Iranian citizens to have their 

voices heard. 

Whereas, on December 28, 2017, Iranian citizens initiated 

protests objecting to the system of entrenched corruption 

and impoverishment in Iran, as well as the Government 

of Iran’s foreign policy of supporting terrorism; 

Whereas these protests began in the city of Mashhad and 

rapidly spread throughout urban and rural populations 

across Iran; 

Whereas these protests constitute the most significant antigovernment protests in Iran since June 2009; 

Whereas reports indicate that Iranian citizens have expressed 

numerous economic grievances, including the regime’s 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 368 IS 

widespread corruption and investment of resources in regional conflicts; 

Whereas reports indicate that many hundreds of Iranians 

have been arrested and dozens killed in connection with 

the protests; 

Whereas the Government of Iran has shut down mobile internet access and is working to block access to social media 

applications used to organize and publicize the protests; 

Whereas online social networking and information sharing 

sites such as Telegram, Instagram, and Twitter have 

been blocked; 

Whereas the Government of Iran has routinely violated the 

human rights of its citizens, including ongoing, systematic, and serious restrictions of freedom of peaceful assembly and association and freedom of opinion and expression, including the continuing closures of media outlets, arrests of journalists, and the censorship of expression in online forums such as blogs and websites; 

Whereas the 2016 Department of State Human Rights Report on Iran noted ‘‘severe restrictions on civil liberties, 

including the freedoms of assembly, association, speech, 

religion, and press. Other human rights problems included abuse of due process combined with use of capital 

punishment for crimes that do not meet the requirements 

of due process, as well as cruel, inhuman, or degrading 

treatment or punishment; and disregard for the physical 

integrity of persons, whom authorities arbitrarily and unlawfully detained, tortured, or killed.’’; 

Whereas the Government of Iran has previously responded to 

protests with a concerted campaign of intimidation, reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Jan 04, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR368.IS SR368

sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 368 IS 

pression, and violence, including human rights abuses 

against Iranian citizens; 

Whereas the Government of Iran continues to operate with 

hostility and impunity toward journalists, reformers, ethnic and religious minorities, political opponents, human 

rights defenders, women’s rights groups, student activists, and others, including through unlawful and arbitrary 

detentions, arrests, politically motivated sentencing, physical assaults, and killings; and 

Whereas, on December 29, 2017, the Department of State 

strongly condemned the arrest of peaceful protesters and 

noted, ‘‘Iran’s leaders have turned a wealthy country with 

a rich history and culture into an economically depleted 

rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, 

and chaos.’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports the right of all Iranian citizens, 

3 many of whom braved the persistent and pervasive 

4 threat of censorship, arrest, physical harassment, 

5 and death, to have their voices heard; 

6 (2) calls on the Government of Iran to respect 

7 the rights of the people of Iran to freedom of speech, 

8 press, religion, association, and assembly; 

9 (3) condemns the Government of Iran’s per10 sistent human rights violations; 

11 (4) warns the Government of Iran against any 

12 violence or retribution targeting peaceful protestors; 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 368 IS 

1 (5) objects to acts of censorship, intimidation, 

2 and other restrictions on freedom of the press, free3 dom of speech, and freedom of expression in Iran; 

4 (6) encourages the President, the Secretary of 

5 State, and the United States Ambassador to the 

6 United Nations to work to convene emergency ses7 sions of the United Nations Security Council and 

8 the United Nations Human Rights Council to con9 demn the ongoing human rights violations per10 petrated by the Government of Iran and establish a 

11 monitoring mechanism by which the Council can 

12 monitor such violations; 

13 (7) calls on the Government of Iran to cooper14 ate with and allow visits of the United Nations Spe15 cial Rapporteurs for Human Rights and the United 

16 Nations Office of the High Commissioner for 

17 Human Rights; and 

18 (8) urges the President and Secretary of State 

19 to work with the international community to ensure 

20 that violations of human rights are part of all formal 

21 and informal multilateral or bilateral discussions 

22 with and regarding Iran. 

Æ 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS