IV
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 257
Concerning the emancipation of the Iranian Baha’i community.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 29, 2000
Mr. PORTER (for himself, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr.
HOYER, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. GEORGE MIL-
LER of California, Mr. FORBES, Mr. WOLF, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. EVANS,
Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. ROGAN, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr.
HORN, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. MOORE, Mr.
WEXLER, Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr.
VISCLOSKY, Mr. BATEMAN, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. DEUTSCH,
Mr. COYNE, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. ACK-
ERMAN, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. RAHALL, and Mr.
FALEOMAVAEGA) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Concerning the emancipation of the Iranian Baha’i
community.
Whereas in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996,
Congress, by concurrent resolution, declared that it holds
the Government of Iran responsible for upholding the
rights of all its nationals, including members of the
Baha’i Faith, Iran’s largest religious minority;
Whereas Congress has deplored the Government of Iran’s re-
ligious persecution of the Baha’i community in such reso-
lutions and in numerous other appeals, and has con-
•HCON 257 IH
demned Iran’s execution of more than 200 Baha’is and
the imprisonment of thousands of others solely on ac-
count of their religious beliefs;
Whereas in July 1998 a Baha’i, Mr. Ruhollah Rowhani, was
executed by hanging in Mashhad after being held in soli-
tary confinement for 9 months on the charge of con-
verting a Muslim woman to the Baha’i Faith, a charge
the woman herself refuted;
Whereas 2 Baha’is remain on death row in Iran, 2 on
charges on apostasy, and 10 others are serving prison
terms on charges arising solely from their religious beliefs
or activities;
Whereas the Government of Iran continues to deny individual
Baha’is access to higher education and government em-
ployment and denies recognition and religious rights to
the Baha’i community, according to the policy set forth
in a confidential Iranian Government document which
was revealed by the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights in 1993;
Whereas Baha’is have been banned from teaching and study-
ing at Iranian universities since the Islamic Revolution
and therefore created the Baha’i Institute of Higher
Education, or Baha’i Open University, to provide edu-
cational opportunities to Baha’i youth using volunteer
faculty and a network of classrooms, libraries, and lab-
oratories in private homes and buildings throughout Iran;
Whereas in September and October 1998, Iranian authorities
arrested 36 faculty members of the Open University, 4
of whom have been given prison sentences ranging be-
tween 3 to 10 years, even though the law makes no men-
•HCON 257 IH
tion of religious instruction within one’s own religious
community as being an illegal activity;
Whereas Iranian intelligence officers looted classroom equip-
ment, textbooks, computers, and other personal property
from 532 Baha’i homes in an attempt to close down the
Open University;
Whereas all Baha’i community properties in Iran have been
confiscated by the government, and Iranian Baha’is are
not permitted to elect their leaders, organize as a com-
munity, operate religious schools, or conduct other reli-
gious community activities guaranteed by the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights;
Whereas on February 22, 1993, the United Nations Commis-
sion on Human Rights published a formerly confidential
Iranian government document that constitutes a blue-
print for the destruction of the Baha’i community and re-
veals that these repressive actions are the result of a de-
liberate policy designed and approved by the highest offi-
cials of the Government of Iran; and
Whereas in 1998 the United Nations Special Representative
for Human Rights, Maurice Copithorne, was denied entry
into Iran: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress—
(1) continues to hold the Government of Iran
responsible for upholding the rights of all its nation-
als, including members of the Baha’i community, in
a manner consistent with Iran’s obligations under
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
•HCON 257 IH
other international agreements guaranteeing the civil
and political rights of its citizens;
(2) condemns the repressive anti-Baha’i policies
and actions of the Government of Iran, including the
denial of legal recognition to the Baha’i community
and the basic rights to organize, elect its leaders,
educate its youth, and conduct the normal activities
of a law-abiding religious community;
(3) expresses concern that individual Baha’is
continue to suffer from severely repressive and dis-
criminatory government actions, including executions
and death sentences, solely on account of their reli-
gion;
(4) urges the Government of Iran to permit
Baha’i students to attend Iranian universities and
Baha’i faculty to teach at Iranian universities, to re-
turn the property confiscated from the Baha’i Open
University, to free the imprisoned faculty members
of the Open University, and to permit the Open Uni-
versity to continue to function;
(5) urges the Government of Iran to implement
fully the conclusions and recommendations on the
emancipation of the Iranian Baha’i community made
by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Reli-
gious Intolerance, Professor Abdelfattah Amor, in
•HCON 257 IH
his report of March 1996 to the United Nations
Commission of Human Rights;
(6) urges the Government of Iran to extend to
the Baha’i community the rights guaranteed by the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
international covenants of human rights, including
the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, and
equal protection of the law; and
(7) calls upon the President to continue—
(A) to assert the United States Govern-
ment’s concern regarding Iran’s violations of
the rights of its citizens, including members of
the Baha’i community, along with expressions
of its concern regarding the Iranian Govern-
ment’s support for international terrorism and
its efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruc-
tion;
(B) to emphasize that the United States
regards the human rights practices of the Gov-
ernment of Iran, particularly its treatment of
the Baha’i community and other religious mi-
norities, as a significant factor in the develop-
ment of the United States Government’s rela-
tions with the Government of Iran;
•HCON 257 IH
(C) to emphasize the need for the United
Nations Special Representative for Human
Rights to be granted permission to enter Iran;
(D) to urge the Government of Iran to
emancipate the Baha’i community by granting
those rights guaranteed by the Universal Dec-
laration of Human Rights and the international
covenants on human rights; and
(E) to encourage other governments to
continue to appeal to the Government of Iran,
and to cooperate with other governments and
international 
organizations, 
including 
the
United Nations and its agencies, in efforts to
protect the religious rights of the Baha’is and
other minorities through joint appeals to the
Government of Iran and through other appro-
priate actions.
Æ