H. Res. 976
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
September 20, 2006.
Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran was 
elected through a controlled and fixed election process 
which does not allow the Iranian people to freely elect 
their leaders; 
Whereas the Government of Iran is unaccountable to the will 
of the Iranian people; 
Whereas the Government of Iran is a party to the Inter-
national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural 
Rights and the International Convention on the Elimi-
nation of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; 
Whereas the Government of Iran within both its legal frame-
work and everyday practice continues to violate the civil 
and human rights of its citizens, in particular women, re-
ligious and ethnic minorities, and vocal opponents of the 
regime; 
Whereas the Government of Iran practices discrimination 
against the aforementioned groups through denial of ac-
cess to education and employment, seizure of private 
property, violent suppression of peaceful protest and free-
dom of assembly, arbitrary arrest and detention, physical 
and mental torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading pun-
•HRES 976 EH 
ishment, such as public executions, hanging, and stoning, 
and extra judicial killings of dissidents and ordinary citi-
zens; 
Whereas the Constitution of Iran promotes religious intoler-
ance and prohibits religious freedom by endorsing one re-
ligion to the exclusion of other religious beliefs; 
Whereas an unelected theocratic ruler and clerical elite exert 
control over the executive, legislative, and judicial 
branches of the Iranian Government; 
Whereas the Iranian judiciary is not independent and can be 
subject to arbitrary dismissal by the clerics; 
Whereas on December 16, 2005, the United Nations General 
Assembly passed a resolution discussing the human 
rights violations by the Government of Iran and insisting 
that Iran eliminate in law and in practice discrimination 
toward the aforementioned groups; 
Whereas international human rights organizations have called 
for investigations into violent crackdowns of peaceful pro-
tests and other human rights violations which the Gov-
ernment of Iran has ignored; 
Whereas Iran sent to the June 2006 inaugural meetings of 
the United Nations Human Rights Council Saeed 
Mortazavi, Tehran’s Prosecutor General responsible for 
jailing hundreds of journalists and linked to the 2003 ar-
rest, imprisonment, and murder of an Iranian-Canadian 
photojournalist, showing a blatant disregard for the issue 
of human rights reform; and 
Whereas the Department of State’s Country Report on 
Human Rights Practices and Report on International Re-
ligious Freedom document the human rights abuses by
•HRES 976 EH 
the Government of Iran and list Iran as a ‘‘Country of 
Particular Concern’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) condemns the human rights abuses perpetrated 
by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and 
strongly urges the international community to bring 
pressure on Iran to halt discrimination and violence to-
ward its citizens, in particular women, religious and eth-
nic minorities, and vocal opponents of the regime; 
(2) urges the Government of the United States to 
continue to pressure the Government of Iran into mak-
ing measurable improvements in the human rights situa-
tion for the Iranian people; and 
(3) expresses its unity with all Iranian people and 
shares their desire to see Iran become a free country 
with transparent, democratic institutions and equal 
rights for all. 
Attest:
Clerk.