III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 183 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 28, 2021 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. BOOZMAN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

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. 

Whereas in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 

1996, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 

2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020, Congress declared that it— 

(1) deplored the religious persecution by the Government of Iran of the Baha’i community; and 

(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 


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•SRES 183 IS 

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 United Nations General Assembly Resolution on 

the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic 

of Iran (A/RES/75/191), dated December 16, 2020, expresses serious concern about— 

(1) ‘‘ongoing severe limitations and increasing restrictions on the right to freedom of thought, conscience, 

religion or belief’’; 

(2) ‘‘restrictions on the establishment of places of 

worship’’; 

(3) ‘‘undue restrictions on burials carried out in accordance with religious tenets’’; 

(4) ‘‘attacks against places of worship and burial’’; 

and 

(5) ‘‘other human rights violations, including but not 

limited to harassment, intimidation, persecution, arbitrary arrests and detention, and incitement to hatred 

that leads to violence against persons belonging to recognized and unrecognized religious minorities’’; 

Whereas, on January 29, 2020, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom ‘‘condemned an 

Iranian court order allowing authorities to confiscate 

properties owned by Baha’is in the village of Ivel in 

Mazandaran Province’’; 

Whereas the Iran section of the Department of State’s 2019 

Report on International Religious Freedom states that— 

(1) ‘‘The government bars Baha’is from all government employment and forbids Baha’i participation in the 

governmental social pension system. Baha’is may not receive compensation for injury or crimes committed 


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•SRES 183 IS 

against them and may not inherit property. A religious 

fatwa from the supreme leader encourages citizens to 

avoid all dealings with Baha’is.’’; 

(2) ‘‘Baha’is and those who advocated for their 

rights reported Baha’is continued to be major targets of 

social stigma and violence, and perpetrators reportedly 

continued to act with impunity. Even when arrested, perpetrators faced diminished punishment following admissions that their acts were based on the religious identity 

of the victim.’’; 

(3) ‘‘There continued to be reports of non-Baha’is 

dismissing or refusing employment to Baha’is, sometimes 

in response to government pressure, according to [the 

Baha’i International Community] and other organizations 

monitoring the situation of the Baha’is.’’; and 

(4) ‘‘According to media and NGO reports, Baha’is 

continued to face charges that included ‘insulting religious sanctities,’ ‘corruption on earth,’ ‘propaganda 

against the system,’ ‘espionage and collaboration with 

foreign entities,’ and ‘actions against national security.’ 

Charges also included involvement with the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), a university-level 

educational institution offering mainly distance learning, 

that the government considered illegal.’’; 

Whereas, on March 11, 2020, the Department of State released the 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights 

Practices, which states that Iranian authorities ‘‘barred 

Bahai students from higher education’’; 

Whereas the Baha’i International Community documented a 

more than 50-percent increase in hate propaganda directed against the Baha’is in the 12-month period ending 

in August 2020 compared to prior years with more than 


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9,500 such articles, videos, or web pages appearing in 

Iranian government-controlled or government-sponsored 

media; 

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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns the Government of Iran’s state3 sponsored persecution of its Baha’i minority and its 

4 continued violation of the International Covenant on 

5 Civil and Political Rights and the International Cov6 enant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; 

7 (2) calls on the Government of Iran— 


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•SRES 183 IS 

1 (A) to immediately release the imprisoned 

2 or detained Baha’is and all other prisoners held 

3 solely on account of their religion; 

4 (B) to end its state-sponsored campaign of 

5 hate propaganda against the Baha’is; and 

6 (C) to reverse state-imposed policies deny7 ing equal opportunities to higher education, 

8 earning a livelihood, due process under the law, 

9 and the free exercise of religious practices; 

10 (3) calls on the President and the Secretary of 

11 State, in cooperation with responsible nations— 

12 (A) to immediately condemn the Govern13 ment of Iran’s continued violation of human 

14 rights; and 

15 (B) to demand the immediate release of 

16 prisoners held solely on account of their reli17 gion; and 

18 (4) urges the President and the Secretary of 

19 State to utilize available authorities to impose sanc20 tions on officials of the Government of Iran and 

21 other individuals directly responsible for serious 

22 human rights abuses, including abuses against the 

23 Iranian Baha’i community. 

Æ 


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