Condemning the inaction by the Islamic Republic of Iran in addressing the poisoning of Iranian schoolgirls, the Daughters of the Iranian Revolution.

Subjects: International Affairs


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 310 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 310

 Condemning the inaction by the Islamic Republic of Iran in addressing 
  the poisoning of Iranian schoolgirls, the Daughters of the Iranian 
                              Revolution.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 20, 2023

   Ms. Jackson Lee (for herself, Ms. Mace, Ms. Ross, Mr. Curtis, Mr. 
 Payne, Mr. Bacon, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. McClintock, Mr. Costa, Mr. Peters, 
Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Moskowitz, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Pappas, Mr. 
Carter of Louisiana, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Gooden of Texas, Mr. Cohen, 
   Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mrs. Kim of California, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Mike 
Garcia of California, and Ms. Chu) submitted the following resolution; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Condemning the inaction by the Islamic Republic of Iran in addressing 
  the poisoning of Iranian schoolgirls, the Daughters of the Iranian 
                              Revolution.

Whereas the Iranian people have been deprived of their fundamental freedoms for 
        which reason they are rejecting monarchic dictatorship and religious 
        tyranny, as evident in their protest slogans;
Whereas more than 5,000 schoolgirls at more than 26 schools in 29 of Iran's 31 
        provinces have now been hit by the poison gas since the first attacks in 
        the city of Qom in November 2022;
Whereas, according to a October 5, 2022, report by France 24, ``Iran schoolgirls 
        lead protests over Mahsa Amini['s] death'';
Whereas, since the death of Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022, many schoolgirls 
        have been active in protests and tearing up pictures of Supreme Leader 
        Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling for his death;
Whereas the Iranian regime has been slow to respond, and angry parents are 
        turning out in droves to challenge the regime and are calling the 
        attacks ``targeted and deliberate'' to keep girls from getting an 
        education;
Whereas protests have erupted in more than a dozen cities across Iran over the 
        poisoning of thousands of schoolgirls and the government's inability to 
        contain the growing crisis with chants of ``Death to the child-killing 
        regime.'';
Whereas, in several cities, security forces have unleashed tear gas against 
        people who were peacefully protesting the lack of action taken by the 
        government to provide safety and security for schoolgirls;
Whereas the Iranian judiciary has targeted journalists who have reported on the 
        schoolgirls' poisonings, accusing them of ``spreading lies and rumors'';
Whereas the United States and the United Nations (UN) have called on the Iranian 
        regime to fully investigate the suspected poisonings of schoolgirls and 
        hold those responsible to account;
Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights spokeswoman Ravina 
        Shamdasani has said, ``We're very concerned about these allegations that 
        girls are being deliberately targeted under what appear to be mysterious 
        circumstances.'';
Whereas the World Health Organization's (WHO) spokeswoman Margaret Harris stated 
        that the agency contacted national health authorities and medical 
        professionals about these incidents while ``using other means to 
        understand more about the event so that we have better evidence'';
Whereas medics, teachers, and parents accuse the Iranian authorities of 
        silencing victims of suspected poisoning attacks;
Whereas the Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, has ignored the attacks for more 
        than 100 days and has responded with blaming protestors for the gas 
        attacks on schoolgirls;
Whereas, on September 16, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa (Zhina) Amini was killed in 
        custody by the Iranian ``morality police'', which sparked the nationwide 
        uprising for the last six months;
Whereas women and youth have led the 2022 protests in Iran, demanding social 
        freedom and political change;
Whereas these protests are rooted in the more than four decades of organized 
        resistance against the Iranian dictatorship, which have been led by 
        women who have endured torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and 
        death;
Whereas, according to a December 9, 2022, Amnesty International report, ``Iran's 
        security forces have killed with absolute impunity at least 44 children 
        and injured many more in a bid to crush the spirit of resistance among 
        the country's youth and retain their iron grip on power at any cost'';
Whereas the similarity in slogans and tactics used by protests nationwide 
        reflects the overarching demands of the Iranian people and points to the 
        organized nature of the protests;
Whereas, on December 14, 2022, the United Nations Economic and Social Council 
        (ECOSOC) adopted a resolution to expel Iran from the Commission on the 
        Status of Women (CSW) for the remainder of its 4-year term ending in 
        2026;
Whereas the Department of State's 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights 
        Practices, released on April 13, 2022, cites that Iran's ``government 
        and its agents reportedly committed arbitrary or unlawful killings, most 
        commonly executions for crimes not meeting the international legal 
        standard of `most serious crimes' or for crimes committed by juvenile 
        offenders, as well as executions after trials without due process'';
Whereas, on October 25, 2021, the United Nations Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on 
        the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javaid 
        Rehman, told the United Nations General Assembly that almost all 
        executions in the country constituted an arbitrary deprivation of life, 
        noting the ``extensive, vague and arbitrary grounds in Iran for imposing 
        the death sentence, which quickly can turn this punishment into a 
        political tool'';
Whereas, on January 13, 2022, a United Nations report has urged ``the 
        international community to call for accountability with respect to long-
        standing emblematic events that have been met with persistent impunity, 
        including the enforced disappearances and summary and arbitrary 
        executions of 1988 and the November 2019 protests'';
Whereas the massacre of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 was carried out 
        based on a fatwa to execute all political prisoners, including women and 
        schoolgirls, who remained loyal to the Iranian Resistance, and 
        subsequent death commissions were formed on July 19, 1988, whose members 
        included the current Iranian regime's President, Ebrahim Raisi, an 
        official from the Ministry of Intelligence, and a state prosecutor, to 
        implement the fatwa;
Whereas, to date, 229 Members of the House of Representatives in the 118th 
        Congress have signed on as cosponsors of H. Res. 100, ``Expressing 
        support for the Iranian people's desire for a democratic, secular, and 
        nonnuclear Republic of Iran, and condemning violations of human rights 
        and state-sponsored terrorism by the Iranian Government.'';
Whereas the large presence of young people, especially female students, in the 
        recent protests have angered authorities, and in a speech broadcasted on 
        Iran's state TV on October 3, 2022, the Supreme Leader promised to 
        punish youths who were involved;
Whereas, over the past four decades, the Iranian regime has falsely attributed 
        acid attacks on women, the litany of murders of writers and 
        intellectuals, and the murder of Christian priests to foreign elements 
        and the democratic opposition to the regime;
Whereas women from all walks of life and social inclinations have played a 
        prominent role in the nationwide uprising;
Whereas the rallying cry of protesting women inside and outside Iran is ``With 
        or without hijab, onward to revolution.'', which rejects compulsory 
        hijab and respects women's freedom to choose their own attire;
Whereas the people of Iran, both men and women, are against compulsory religion, 
        compulsory hijab, and compulsory government;
Whereas the efforts by regime authorities to minimize these poisonings are 
        reflected in the remarks by the Minister of Education of Iran on 
        February 15, 2023, in which he said, ``Most of the poisoning of students 
        in Qom is caused by rumors that have scared the people and students, and 
        some of them had pre-existing diseases'';
Whereas, according to a March 6, 2023, report by the judicial news agency, 
        Mizan, the head of Iran's judiciary, instead of arresting the 
        perpetrators of the crime, they threatened those who exposed this crime 
        and stated, ``The local Justice Departments in all provinces were 
        ordered to set up a branch in the provincial capital to summon the 
        people who spread lies in the case of poisonings'';
Whereas a statement by the Ministry of Interior on March 12, 2023, attributed 
        chemical attacks to ``mischievous and adventurous'' students ``with the 
        aim of closing classes'' and ``using smelly substances'', or to 
        ``opponents and enemies (of the state)'';
Whereas Iranian state-run media have quoted experts that poisonous gas used to 
        target schoolgirls is of the kind that is not available to the public;
Whereas physicians and nurses are prohibited from sharing any information about 
        the poisoning of the schoolgirls; and
Whereas senior Iranian Government, military, judicial, and security officials 
        have for decades ordered or committed egregious human rights violations 
        and acts of terror: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns--
                    (A) the deliberate gas attacks on the schoolgirls 
                in Iran; and
                    (B) the violent suppression by the Iranian regime 
                of schoolgirls, men, and women who participating in 
                demonstrations, and calls for transparent 
                accountability for all killings of protesters by 
                Iranian security forces; and
            (2) urges the United States Government to--
                    (A) initiate a formal process for an independent 
                investigation of the gas attacks on the schoolgirls in 
                Iran;
                    (B) work with the United Nations to send an 
                independent fact-finding mission to Iran; and
                    (C) work with the World Health Organization to 
                provide a transparent report to Congress, based on an 
                independent investigation, on how these attacks are 
                taking place and who is behind these attacks on 
                schoolgirls in Iran.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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