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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1457 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 1457

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                         June 24, 2010.
Whereas Iran's authoritarian system of government violates numerous 
        international norms and principles of democratic governance;
Whereas June 12, 2009, was the date scheduled for Iranian presidential 
        elections, in which only candidates approved by the Government of Iran's 
        Guardian Council were allowed to compete;
Whereas the ensuing announcement by Iranian authorities of an ``overwhelming 
        victory'' for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was made suspiciously early;
Whereas reported vote counts in the June 12, 2009, election were inconsistent 
        with Iranian demographics and political trends, including provinces in 
        which more votes were allegedly cast than the number of registered 
        voters and vote counts that indicated unusual pro-Ahmadinejad voting 
        patterns by traditionally anti-Ahmadinejad constituencies;
Whereas the Government of Iran's unrealistic vote count and fraudulent 
        announcement of election results prompted millions of Iranians to rush 
        into the streets in protest and prompted unprecedented public criticism 
        by Iranians of the authoritarian rulers of the Government of Iran;
Whereas the Government of Iran, Iranian riot police, members of the 
        Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Basij militias engaged in a brutal 
        crackdown on the Iranian people in the aftermath of the disputed 
        presidential election of June 12, 2009, killing, injuring, or 
        imprisoning many Iranians, stifling freedom of speech, press, and 
        assembly and violating fundamental human rights;
Whereas, on June 19, 2009, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly adopted 
        H. Res. 560 which ``(1) expresses its support for all Iranian citizens 
        who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties, and 
        rule of law; (2) condemns the ongoing violence against demonstrators by 
        the Government of Iran and pro-government militias, as well as the 
        ongoing government suppression of independent electronic communication 
        through interference with the Internet and cellphones; and (3) affirms 
        the universality of individual rights and the importance of democratic 
        and fair elections'';
Whereas, on June 23, 2009, President Barack Obama denounced the Government of 
        Iran's crackdown on the Iranian people, stating that ``The United States 
        and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the 
        threats, the beatings and imprisonments of the last few days'', that ``I 
        strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American 
        people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost'', and that 
        the United States must ``bear witness to the courage and dignity of the 
        Iranian people, and to a remarkable opening within Iranian society'';
Whereas, on December 27, 2009, the Shiite Muslim holiday of Ashura was observed 
        and at least eight Iranian civilians were killed and hundreds arrested 
        in confrontations with the Iranian authorities;
Whereas the Government of Iran is violating its international and constitutional 
        obligations to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of its 
        citizens by--

    (1) using arbitrary or unlawful killings, beatings, rape, torture, and 
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, including flogging 
and amputations;

    (2) carrying out an increasingly high rate of executions in the absence 
of internationally recognized safeguards, including public executions and 
executions of juvenile offenders;

    (3) using stoning as a method of execution and maintaining a high 
number of persons in prison who continue to face sentences of execution by 
stoning;

    (4) carrying out arrests, violent repression, and sentencing of women 
exercising their right to peaceful assembly, a campaign of intimidation 
against women defenders of human rights, and continuing discrimination 
against women and girls;

    (5) permitting or carrying out increasing discrimination and other 
human rights violations against persons belonging to religious, ethnic, 
linguistic, or other minority communities;

    (6) imposing 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, 
the censorship of expression and of the press in newspapers and online 
forums such as blogs and websites, as well as blockage or disruption of 
Internet-based communications and of mobile phone and text messaging 
networks; and

    (7) imposing severe limitations and restrictions on freedom of religion 
and belief by carrying out arbitrary arrests, indefinite detentions, and 
lengthy jail sentences for those exercising their rights to freedom of 
religion or belief and by proposing a mandatory death sentence for 
apostasy, the abandoning of one's faith;

Whereas according to the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights 
        Practices for 2009, Iran's ``poor human rights record degenerated during 
        the year * * * the government severely limited citizens' right to change 
        their government peacefully through free and fair elections * * * 
        authorities held political prisoners and intensified a crackdown against 
        women's rights reformers, ethnic minority rights activists, student 
        activists, and religious minorities'';
Whereas hundreds of political prisoners remain imprisoned by the Government of 
        Iran;
Whereas Ahmad Jannati, who heads the Government of Iran's powerful Guardian 
        Council, has called for the execution of more dissidents and protestors, 
        and a senior official of the Iranian ``judiciary'' has stated that the 
        Government of Iran will soon execute further dissidents;
Whereas thousands of Iranian citizens have continued to peacefully and 
        courageously assemble and protest against the Government of Iran's 
        denial of human rights and democracy to the people of Iran;
Whereas article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that 
        ``(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his 
        country, directly or through freely chosen representatives; (2) Everyone 
        has the right of equal access to public service in his country; (3) The 
        will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; 
        this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which 
        shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret 
        vote or by equivalent free voting procedures'';
Whereas the United States supports the right of the citizens of Iran to freedom 
        and democratic governance, including the right to select their political 
        leaders in free, democratic, and independent elections;
Whereas the Government of Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons capability which, 
        if obtained, would usher in a dangerous new era of instability in the 
        Gulf and the Middle East, and allow the Government of Iran to act with 
        impunity in the face of international pressure to cease its dangerous 
        international behavior and its horrific human rights abuses;
Whereas Iran continues to enrich uranium and carry out other nuclear activities 
        in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1696 (2006), 
        1737 (2006), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008), 1835 (2008), and 1929 (2010);
Whereas Iran has failed to cooperate with International Atomic Energy Agency 
        inspectors looking into the possible military nature of the Iranian 
        nuclear program, including by denying inspectors access to facilities, 
        people, and documents; and
Whereas according to the Department of State's Country Reports on Terrorism, 
        Iran remains ``the most active state sponsor of terrorism'', continues 
        to provide arms, financing, training, and other support to Hamas, 
        Hezbollah, and other groups designated by the United States as foreign 
        terrorist organizations, in addition to providing lethal support to 
        violent militants in Iraq and Afghanistan: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms its support for all Iranian citizens who courageously 
        struggle for freedom, human rights, civil liberties, and the protection 
        of the rule of law;
            (2) condemns the ongoing violence and human rights abuses against 
        the people of Iran by the Government of Iran and pro-government 
        militias, as well as the ongoing government suppression of independent 
        electronic communication through interference with the Internet and cell 
        phones;
            (3) condemns the Government of Iran's continued pursuit of a nuclear 
        weapons capability and unconventional weapons and ballistic missile 
        capabilities, and its use of its nuclear program to distract attention 
        from its horrific abuses of the human rights of the Iranian people;
            (4) urges the immediate release of all political prisoners detained 
        by the Government of Iran and the immediate end of all harassment and 
        violence against the people of Iran by the Government of Iran and pro-
        government militias;
            (5) reaffirms the universality of individual human and political 
        rights; and
            (6) calls for freedom and democracy for the people of Iran, 
        including fair, democratic, and independent elections in Iran.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.
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