IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 823 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 30, 2020 

Mr. DEUTCH (for himself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. 

MCCAUL, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. SCHNEIDER, 

Mr. CHABOT, Mr. MEEKS, and Mrs. WAGNER) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

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, and 2018, Congress declared that it deplored the religious persecution by the Government of 

Iran of the Baha’i community and would hold the Government of Iran responsible for upholding the rights of 

all Iranian nationals, including members of the Baha’i 

faith; 


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•HRES 823 IH 

Whereas, since 1979, authorities have killed or executed more 

than 200 Baha’i leaders, and more than 10,000 have 

been dismissed from government and university jobs; 

Whereas the Report of the United Nations Special 

Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (A/74/188) dated July 18, 2019, 

provides, in part— 

(1) the Iranian authorities and the Iranian criminal 

justice system regard the Baha’is as ‘‘unprotected 

infidels’’; the Baha’i faith is also ‘‘regarded as a misguided sect’’; and ‘‘Baha’i worship and religious practices 

are deemed heresy.’’; 

(2) ‘‘Baha’is have been murdered with impunity and 

violations of their human rights have not been investigated.’’; 

(3) members of the Baha’i faith ‘‘frequently face 

charges, such as, ‘breaching national security’, ‘propaganda against the holy regime of the Islamic Republic of 

Iran’, or ‘propaganda activities against the regime in the 

interests of the Baha’i sect’ ’’; 

(4) ‘‘Since August 2005, more than 1,168 Baha’is 

have been arrested and charged with vaguely worded 

offences.’’; 

(5) ‘‘There were a total of 95 Baha’is reportedly arrested in 2018, compared with at least 84 in 2017 and 

81 in 2016.’’; 

(6) ‘‘On 1 January 2019, the court of appeal of 

Isfahan reportedly condemned, in separate judgments, 

nine Baha’i citizens to a total of 48 years of prison. They 

had been charged with ‘membership of the illegal Baha’i 

community and propaganda against the regime by 

spreading the Baha’i faith in the society.’ ’’; 


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•HRES 823 IH 

(7) directed by a 2007 letter from the Security Unit 

of the Public Place Supervision Office of the Islamic Republic of Iran to police commanders throughout the country, Iranian authorities continue to apply economic pressure against the Baha’i community, by banning them 

from specific professions and ‘‘halting their entry to ‘high 

earning businesses.’ ’’; and 

(8) ‘‘Since 2013, there have been more than 803 incidents of violations of economic rights of the Baha’is, including arbitrary shop closures, unfair dismissals from 

employment and the actual or threatened revocation of 

business licenses.’’; 

Whereas the Department of State’s International Religious 

Freedom Report for 2018, Iran section, provides, in 

part— 

(1) ‘‘Non-Shia Muslims and those affiliated with a 

religion other than Islam, especially members of the 

Baha’i community, continued to face societal discrimination and harassment, and employers experienced social 

pressures not to hire Baha’is or to dismiss them from 

their private sector jobs.’’; and 

(2) ‘‘The law bars Baha’is from founding their own 

educational institutions. A Ministry of Science, Research, 

and Technology order requires universities to exclude Baha’is from access to higher education or expel them if 

their religious affiliation becomes known.’’; 

Whereas, on March 13, 2019, the Department of State released the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 

for 2018 and, in connection with Iran, the report provides, in part— 

(1) Iranian authorities ‘‘barred Baha’i students from 

higher education’’, and in September 2018, denied enrollVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Jan 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR823.IH HR823

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•HRES 823 IH 

ment to more than 50 Baha’i college applicants because 

of their religious affiliation; and 

(2) ‘‘The country materially contributed to human 

rights abuses . . . in Yemen, through its support for 

Houthi rebels and directing authorities in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen to harass and detain Baha’is because of their religious affiliation.’’; 

Whereas the 2019 Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom provides, in 

part— 

(1) ‘‘There are more than 300,000 Baha’is in Iran, 

who together constitute the largest non-Muslim religious 

majority in the country.’’; 

(2) ‘‘Shiraz city councilman Mehdi Hajati was arrested on the order of the Shiraz Revolutionary Court 

after criticizing the arrests of Baha’is in his city.’’; and 

(3) ‘‘Security forces also prevented the burial of two 

deceased Baha’i individuals in a Baha’i cemetery in 

Kerman after it was sealed in March 2018. In October, 

the body of a deceased Baha’i woman was exhumed four 

days after her burial and abandoned in a desert area outside the town of Jaban.’’; 

Whereas the Baha’i International Community has documented more than 26,000 items of anti-Baha’i hate propaganda in Iran’s official and semi official media since 

January 2014; 

Whereas the Government of Iran is a party to the International Covenants on Human Rights 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 inVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Jan 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR823.IH HR823

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•HRES 823 IH 

dividuals ‘‘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 House of Representatives— 

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

4 continued violation of the International Covenants 

5 on Human Rights; 

6 (2) calls on the Government of Iran— 

7 (A) to immediately release all imprisoned 

8 or detained Baha’is, together with all other 

9 prisoners held solely on account of their reli10 gion; 

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

12 hate propaganda against the Baha’is; and 

13 (C) to reverse state-imposed policies deny14 ing equal opportunities to higher education, 

15 earning a livelihood, due process under the law, 

16 and the free exercise of religious practices; 


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•HRES 823 IH 

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

2 State, in cooperation with responsible nations, to im3 mediately condemn the Government of Iran’s contin4 ued violation of human rights and demand the im5 mediate release of prisoners held solely on account 

6 of their religion; and 

7 (4) urges the President and the Secretary of 

8 State to utilize available authorities to impose sanc9 tions on officials of the Government of Iran and 

10 other individuals directly responsible for serious 

11 human rights abuses, including abuses against the 

12 Baha’i community of Iran. 

Æ 


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