III 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 551 

Marking the one year anniversary of the June 12, 2009, presidential election 

in Iran, and condemning ongoing human rights abuses in Iran. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 14, 2010 

Mr. KAUFMAN (for himself, Mr. CASEY, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. MCCAIN, Mrs. 

SHAHEEN, Mr. KYL, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. MENENDEZ, 

Mr. GRAHAM, and Mr. LEVIN) submitted the following resolution; which 

was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Marking the one year anniversary of the June 12, 2009, 

presidential election in Iran, and condemning ongoing 

human rights abuses in Iran. 

Whereas the Government of Iran has systematically undertaken a campaign of violence, persecution, and intimidation against Iranian citizens who have peacefully protested the results of the deeply flawed Iran presidential 

elections of June 12, 2009; 

Whereas the 2009 Department of State Country Report on 

Human Rights Practices in Iran found that ‘‘[t]he government [of Iran] severely limited citizens’ right to peacefully change their government through free and fair elections’’ and ‘‘. . . severely restricted the right to privacy 

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•SRES 551 ATS 

and civil liberties, including freedoms of speech and the 

press, assembly, association, and movement’’; 

Whereas hundreds of thousands of peaceful demonstrators 

gathered in the streets of Iran in the aftermath of the 

June 12, 2009, elections, and dozens of innocent Iranians 

were killed and more than 4,000 were arbitrarily arrested 

by police and security forces and the Basij militia; 

Whereas hundreds of Iranian citizens remain in detention 

and more than 250 prominent activists and demonstrators were tried in mass ‘‘show trials’’ that began in August 2009, and at least 50 of these defendants have received sentences ranging from six months imprisonment 

to death; 

Whereas, on June 20, 2009, a member of the Basij militia 

reportedly shot and killed 27 year-old student Neda 

Agha-Soltan, whose murder was recorded on a mobile 

phone camera, disseminated via the Internet, and became 

a rallying cry for the political opposition and Green 

Movement; 

Whereas, since the election, the Government of Iran has systemically restricted and suppressed free press, free expression, free assembly, and free access to the Internet 

and other forms of connective technology in order to limit 

the flow of information and silence political opposition 

and other forms of popular dissent; 

Whereas the Government of Iran has a deplorable human 

rights record that includes severe restrictions on the freedom of religion or belief, denial of the freedom of assembly and the rights of civil society, systematic torture and 

ill-treatment, and judicial proceedings that lack due process; 

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•SRES 551 ATS 

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; 

Whereas human rights activists, journalists, and ethnic and 

religious minorities have fled Iran for fear of persecution 

and are residing, some in dangerous circumstances, in 

neighboring countries seeking refugee status and asylum 

in the United States and other countries; 

Whereas the Government of Iran has violated its obligations 

under the International Covenant on Civil and Political 

Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 

International Convention on the Elimination of All 

Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the International 

Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; 

Whereas the 2010 Freedom House Freedom in the World Report finds that Iran leads the world in the number of 

jailed journalists; 

Whereas, since the June 2009 election, the Government of 

Iran has restricted foreign press access, banned more 

than 60 international media outlets, and jammed international broadcasts, including those of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Radio Farda, Voice of America’s 

Persian News Network, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and other non-Iranian news services; 

Whereas, on December 18, 2009, the United Nations General 

Assembly passed a resolution condemning ‘‘serious, ongoing and recurring human rights violations in Iran’’ and 

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•SRES 551 ATS 

calling on the Government of Iran to respect its human 

rights obligations; 

Whereas, on December 27, 2009, the Ashura holiday, at least 

eight civilians were killed in confrontations with authorities, and police reportedly arrested approximately 300 civilians in relation to popular demonstrations; 

Whereas, on February 11, 2010, the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, the Government of Iran beat and arrested numerous protestors, jammed text messaging technology, slowed and restricted access to the Internet, and 

blocked email and news websites, intentionally limiting 

the ability of Iranian citizens to communicate and freely 

access news and information; 

Whereas, on April 19, 2010, the Government of Iran officially suspended prominent political parties, banned a reformist newspaper, and sentenced to prison leaders within the political opposition; and 

Whereas activists connected to the 2009 election protests 

were recently re-arrested in an attempt to disrupt 

planned protests on the one-year anniversary of the election on June 12, 2010: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) solemnly marks one year since the flawed 

3 June 12, 2009, presidential election in Iran, and 

4 honors Iranian citizens who have lost their lives in 

5 peaceful protest since the election; 

6 (2) supports the people of Iran as they seek 

7 peaceful and free expression, free speech, free press, 

8 free assembly, unfettered access to the Internet, and 

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1 freedom of religion despite a campaign of intimida2 tion, repressions, and violence perpetrated by the 

3 Government of Iran; 

4 (3) commends the people of Iran who have 

5 braved the persistent and pervasive threat of censor6 ship, arrest, physical harassment, and death to have 

7 their voices heard and peacefully exercise funda8 mental human rights, as enshrined in the constitu9 tion of Iran and international human rights law, in10 cluding the International Covenant on Civil and Po11 litical Rights, entered into force on March 23, 1976, 

12 and ratified by Iran; 

13 (4) condemns the Government of Iran for per14 petrating ongoing human rights abuses and for re15 stricting, monitoring, and suppressing freedom of 

16 the press, expression, assembly, speech, and religion, 

17 as well as free access to the Internet and other 

18 forms of connective technology in order to limit the 

19 flow of information and silence political opposition 

20 and other forms of popular dissent; 

21 (5) denounces the atmosphere of impunity for 

22 those who intimidate, harass, and commit violence 

23 against Iranian citizens, and calls for the uncondi24 tional release of all political and religious prisoners 

25 in Iran; 

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1 (6) urges the President and Secretary of State 

2 to mobilize resources to support freedom of assem3 bly, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, 

4 freedom of religion, and freedom of speech in Iran, 

5 especially on the June 12 anniversary of the 2009 

6 presidential election; 

7 (7) encourages the President and Secretary of 

8 State to work with the United Nations Human 

9 Rights Council to condemn the ongoing human 

10 rights violations perpetrated by the Government of 

11 Iran and establish a monitoring mechanism by which 

12 the Council can monitor such violations; 

13 (8) urges the Government of Iran to cooperate 

14 with and allow visits of the United Nations Special 

15 Rapporteurs for Human Rights and the United Na16 tions Office of the High Commissioner for Human 

17 Rights; 

18 (9) 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; and 

23 (10) calls for the immediate return of all miss24 ing and detained United States citizens in Iran. 

Æ 

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