II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1534 

To hold the current regime in Iran accountable for its human rights record 

and to support a transition to democracy in Iran. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 25, 2007 

Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself and Mr. BAYH) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To hold the current regime in Iran accountable for its human 

rights record and to support a transition to democracy 

in Iran. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Iran Human Rights 

5 Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) There is currently not a democratic govern9 ment in Iran. Instead, Iran is an ideological dicta10 torship presided over by an unelected Supreme 

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1 Leader with limitless veto power, an unelected Expe2 diency Council, and a Council of Guardians capable 

3 of eviscerating any reforms. 

4 (2) The Supreme Leader appoints the heads of 

5 the judiciary, the clergy members on the powerful 

6 Council of Guardians, the commanders of all the 

7 armed forces, Friday prayer leaders, and the head of 

8 radio and television and confirms the president’s 

9 election, rendering him the most powerful person in 

10 Iranian politics with little accountability within the 

11 political system. 

12 (3) Members of the Council of Guardians in 

13 Iran, who are chosen by the Supreme Leader, must 

14 vet all candidates for election based on their political 

15 predispositions and all legislation before it can be 

16 entered into law. 

17 (4) There has been a re-entrenchment of revolu18 tionary forces in the political system in Iran. Elec19 tions held in February 2004 resulted in significant 

20 gains by conservative hard-liners affiliated with the 

21 regime’s clerical army, the Pasdaran, culminating in 

22 the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 

23 June 2005. 

24 (5) Over the past decade, human rights have 

25 been in steady decline in Iran. Torture, executions 

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1 after unfair trials, and censorship of all media re2 main rampant throughout the country. Stoning, am3 putation, flogging, and beheading are used as meth4 ods of punishment. 

5 (6) Since his rise to power, President 

6 Ahmadinejad has embarked upon a concerted cam7 paign of domestic repression, including new restric8 tions on radio, television, and film content, a ban on 

9 the publication of virtually all books, and an expan10 sion in the activities of the regime’s ‘‘morals police’’. 

11 (7) The United Nations General Assembly 

12 adopted Resolution 61/176 on December 19, 2006, 

13 to express its grave concern over the deteriorating 

14 human rights situation in Iran. The resolution urges 

15 the Government of Iran ‘‘to ensure full respect for 

16 the rights to freedom of assembly, opinion and ex17 pression . . . to eliminate the use of torture and other 

18 cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punish19 ment . . . [and] to eliminate, in law and in practice, 

20 all forms of discrimination based on religion, eth21 nicity, or linguistic grounds. 

22 (8) The 2006 State Department Country Re23 ports on Human Rights Practices states that ‘‘the 

24 Government’s poor human rights record worsened, 

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1 and it continued to commit numerous, serious 

2 abuses’’. 

3 (9) According to Human Rights Watch’s World 

4 Report 2006, many of the human rights violations 

5 committed in Iran were performed by quasi-official 

6 ‘‘parallel institutions’’, which include ‘‘paramilitary 

7 groups and plainclothes intelligence agents [that] 

8 violently attack peaceful protesters, and intelligence 

9 services [that] run illegal secret prisons and interro10 gation centers’’. Uniformed police officers are fearful 

11 of challenging plainclothes agents, who belong to 

12 groups such as Ansar-e Hizbollah and Basij. 

13 (10) According to the 2006 State Department 

14 International Religious Freedom Report, the popu15 lation of Iran is 89 percent Shi’a Muslim and 8 per16 cent Sunni Muslim; less than 2 percent of the re17 maining population is comprised of Baha’is, Jews, 

18 Christians, Mandaeans, and Zoroastrians. 

19 (11) Religious minorities in Iran face signifi20 cant discrimination, including imprisonment, harass21 ment, and intimidation. Accordingly, the Secretary 

22 of State has, since 1999, designated Iran as a coun23 try of particular concern pursuant to section 

24 402(b)(1)(A) of the International Religious Freedom 

25 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)(A)). 

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1 (12) Ambeyi Ligabo, United Nations Special 

2 Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and 

3 Expression, submitted a report to the Commission 

4 on Human Rights in 2004 on ‘‘Civil and Political 

5 Rights, Including the Question of Freedom of Ex6 pression’’. Mr. Ligabo asserted that ‘‘the climate of 

7 fear induced by the systematic repression of people 

8 expressing critical views against the authorized polit9 ical and religious doctrine and the functioning of the 

10 institutions coupled with the severe and dispropor11 tionate sentences imposed lead to self-censorship on 

12 the part of many journalists, intellectuals, politi13 cians, students and the population at large, thus in 

14 effect impeding freedom of expression’’. 

15 (13) According to the 2006 State Department 

16 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, on 

17 July 31, 2006, student protestor Akbar Mohammadi 

18 died in Evin Prison from medical complications re19 lated to a hunger strike. The report states that ‘‘au20 thorities reportedly denied Mohammadi’s parents 

21 permission to see their son’s body and did not re22 spond to calls for an independent investigation into 

23 the cause of death. 

24 (14) Amnesty International’s 2003 Report on 

25 Iran detailed the arrest of Iranian-born Canadian 

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1 journalist Zahra Kazemi for taking photographs out2 side Evin prison in Tehran on June 23, 2003. Over 

3 the course of her detention, judicial officials interro4 gated Ms. Kazemi for three days. While in custody, 

5 Ms. Kazemi was beaten, and she died of a brain 

6 hemorrhage on July 23, 2003. Despite court orders 

7 for investigation, no progress has been made on this 

8 case. 

9 (15) Men and women are not equal under the 

10 laws of Iran, and women are legally deprived of their 

11 basic rights. The 2006 State Department Country 

12 Reports on Human Rights Practices stated that the 

13 weight of a woman’s court testimony in Iran is half 

14 that of a man’s testimony and the family of a female 

15 crime victim in that country receives only half the 

16 amount of ‘‘blood money’’ provided to the family of 

17 a male crime victim. The Government of Iran man18 dates gender segregation in most public spaces, in19 cluding on public buses and at entrances to public 

20 buildings, universities, and airports. 

21 (16) The April 30, 2007, State Department 

22 Country Reports on Terrorism states that Iran re23 mains the most active state sponsor of terrorism. 

24 (17) There exists a broad-based movement and 

25 desire for political change in the Islamic Republic of 

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1 Iran that is pro-democratic and seeks freedom and 

2 economic opportunity, and which represents all sec3 tors of Iranian society, including youth, women, stu4 dents, military personnel, and religious figures. 

5 (18) The people of Iran have increasingly ex6 pressed frustration at the slow pace of reform in 

7 Iran, and any efforts for nonviolent change in their 

8 society have been suppressed. 

9 (19) On September 7, 2006, Mohammad 

10 Khatami, President of Iran from 1997 to 2005, be11 came the highest ranking Iranian to visit Wash12 ington, DC, since the hostage crisis of 1979, despite 

13 his government’s state sponsorship of terrorism, re14 pression of political opponents, and dismal human 

15 rights record and the advancement of Iran’s ura16 nium enrichment program. 

17 (20) President Ahmadinejad is moving to limit 

18 freedom of expression in higher education. On Sep19 tember 5, 2006, he expressed concern that univer20 sities were too secular and called for a purge of lib21 eral and secular faculty members from universities 

22 in Iran. 

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1 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE IRAN FREEDOM SUPPORT 

2 ACT. 

3 (a) FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITIES.—Section 301(a) of 

4 the Iran Freedom Support Act (Public Law 109–293; 22 

5 U.S.C. 2151 note) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

7 end; 

8 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘in Iran.’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘inside and outside Iran that maintain 

10 internationally recognized human rights standards, 

11 including those provided for in the Universal Dec12 laration of Human Rights and the Helsinki Commit13 ments;’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(3) to make the deplorable human rights 

16 record of the Government of Iran a top concern and 

17 priority of United States foreign policy; and 

18 ‘‘(4) to keep the deplorable human rights record 

19 of Iran a top priority, irrespective of ongoing nuclear 

20 issues.’’. 

21 (b) SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

22 IN IRAN.—Section 302 of such Act is amended— 

23 (1) by amending the section header to read as 

24 follows: ‘‘SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY AND

25 HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN’’; and 

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1 (2) by redesignating subsections (a) through (g) 

2 as subsections (b) through (h), respectively; 

3 (3) in subsection (d), as redesignated— 

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘, acting through the Spe5 cial Envoy,’’ after ‘‘The President’’; and 

6 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘(g)’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘(h)’’; and 

8 (4) by inserting before subsection (b) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(a) SPECIAL ENVOY ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN.— 

11 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL ENVOY.—The 

12 President shall appoint a special envoy for human 

13 rights in Iran within the Department of State (in 

14 this section referred to as the ‘Special Envoy’). The 

15 Special Envoy should— 

16 ‘‘(A) be a person of recognized distinction 

17 in the field of human rights; 

18 ‘‘(B) not be an incumbent official of the 

19 Department of State; and 

20 ‘‘(C) report directly to the Secretary of 

21 State. 

22 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Special Envoy 

24 shall coordinate and promote efforts to improve 

25 respect for the fundamental human rights of 

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1 the people of Iran and work with organizations 

2 committed to promoting democracy in Iran. 

3 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC DUTIES.—The Special 

4 Envoy shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) support and promote inter6 national efforts to promote human rights 

7 and political freedoms in Iran, including 

8 coordination between the United States 

9 and the United Nations, the European 

10 Union, the Organization for Security and 

11 Cooperation in Europe, and countries in 

12 the region; 

13 ‘‘(ii) establish the regional framework 

14 described in section 304; 

15 ‘‘(iii) coordinate with appropriate of16 fices of the Department of State, the De17 partment of Defense, the National Security 

18 Council, and such other agencies as may 

19 be necessary to coordinate the establish20 ment and operation of the regional frame21 work; 

22 ‘‘(iv) serve as point of contact for op23 position groups, diaspora groups, and non24 governmental organizations interested in 

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1 advocating democracy and human rights in 

2 Iran; 

3 ‘‘(v) coordinate efforts with appro4 priate departments and agencies of the 

5 Federal Government, international organi6 zations, nongovernmental organizations, 

7 and individuals and organizations from the 

8 Iranian diaspora to acquire greater infor9 mation and reporting on conditions in 

10 Iran; 

11 ‘‘(vi) oversee funding for, and pro12 viding consultative authority with respect 

13 to, public and private broadcasting into 

14 Iran; and 

15 ‘‘(vii) review strategies for improving 

16 the protection of human rights in Iran, in17 cluding technical training and exchange 

18 programs. 

19 ‘‘(3) REPORT ON ACTIVITIES.—Not later than 

20 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Iran 

21 Human Rights Act of 2007, and annually thereafter 

22 for each of the following 5 years, the Special Envoy 

23 shall submit a report on the activities undertaken 

24 under paragraph (2) during the preceding 12 

25 months to— 

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1 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

2 of the Senate; 

3 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

4 the Senate; 

5 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

6 the House of Representatives; and 

7 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

8 the House of Representatives.’’. 

9 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—Title III of such Act is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 303. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF 

12 HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN. 

13 ‘‘It is the sense of Congress that— 

14 ‘‘(1) there is a direct relationship between the 

15 state of freedom and democracy within Iran and the 

16 efforts of the current regime of Iran to acquire nu17 clear weapons and the long-term success of the glob18 al war on terror; and 

19 ‘‘(2) it is essential that the issue of human 

20 rights violations in Iran should remain a top United 

21 States foreign policy priority, independent of efforts 

22 to address the nuclear threat in Iran. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 304. ESTABLISHMENT OF REGIONAL FRAMEWORK. 

24 ‘‘(a) FINDING.—Congress finds that human rights 

25 initiatives can be undertaken on a multilateral basis, as 

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1 demonstrated by the Organization for Security and Co2 operation in Europe, which established a regional frame3 work for discussing human rights, scientific and edu4 cational cooperation, and economic and trade issues. 

5 ‘‘(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that the United States Government should explore 

7 the possibility of a regional human rights dialogue on Iran 

8 that is modeled on the Helsinki process established by the 

9 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, en10 gaging all countries in the region in a common commit11 ment to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 305. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE ROLE OF THE 

13 UNITED NATIONS. 

14 ‘‘It is the sense of Congress that the United Nations 

15 has a significant role to play in promoting and improving 

16 human rights in Iran, and that— 

17 ‘‘(1) the United Nations General Assembly has 

18 taken positive steps by adopting Resolution 61/176, 

19 which expresses its grave concern over the deterio20 rating human rights situation in Iran; 

21 ‘‘(2) the severe human rights violations in Iran 

22 warrant country-specific attention and reporting by 

23 the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary 

24 Detention, the United Nations Working Group on 

25 Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, the SpeVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:05 May 28, 2007 Jkt 059196 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1534.IS S1534
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1 cial Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbi2 trary Executions, the Special Rapporteur on the 

3 Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom 

4 of Opinion and Expression, the Special Rapporteur 

5 on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and the Special 

6 Rapporteur on Violence Against Women; 

7 ‘‘(3) United Nations member states should not 

8 support Iran as a member of the United Nations 

9 Human Rights Council until the Government of Iran 

10 has made significant progress in its human rights 

11 record, including the adherence to the Universal 

12 Declaration on Human Rights; and 

13 ‘‘(4) the Special Envoy should work with the 

14 United Nations to compile accurate statistical data 

15 on social and political conditions inside Iran. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 306. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON VISA POLICY. 

17 ‘‘It is the sense of Congress that the commitment to 

18 human rights and democracy of a national of Iran who 

19 has applied for a visa to enter the United States should 

20 be considered when determining the eligibility of such na21 tional for the visa.’’. 

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