Title: Supporting the rights of the people of Iran to free expression, condemning the Iranian regime for its crackdown on legitimate protests, and for other purposes.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution states that the House of Representatives stands with the people in Iran engaged in legitimate and peaceful protests against an oppressive and corrupt regime. The resolution also condemns the Iranian regime's serious human rights abuses and destabilizing activities abroad and calls on all democratic governments and institutions to clearly support the Iranian people's right to live in a free society.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 752 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 752

    Supporting the rights of the people of Iran to free expression, 
condemning the Iranian regime for its crackdown on legitimate protests, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 9, 2019

Mr. Deutch (for himself and Mr. Wilson of South Carolina) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Supporting the rights of the people of Iran to free expression, 
condemning the Iranian regime for its crackdown on legitimate protests, 
                        and for other purposes.

Whereas, on November 15, 2019, popular protests against the Iranian regime began 
        and rapidly spread to at least 21 cities throughout the country, in the 
        most significant antigovernment protests in Iran since June 2009;
Whereas the protests began in response to an announced increase on the price of 
        fuel and protesters have expressed numerous economic grievances, while 
        also calling for the structural reform of the political system and 
        condemning current and former Iranian leaders;
Whereas reports indicate that Iranian security forces have used lethal force in 
        arresting more than 7,000 people and killed at least 208 in connection 
        with the protests;
Whereas reports indicate that Iranian Government authorities have, in many 
        instances, refused to return victims' bodies to their families and that 
        security forces have removed bodies from morgues and transferred them to 
        unknown locations;
Whereas, on November 16, 2019, Iranian authorities began implementing a near-
        total shutdown of internet services, stopping nearly all means of online 
        communications for people inside Iran, to preclude the sharing of images 
        and videos of deadly violence being used by security forces;
Whereas section 103(b)(2)(B) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, 
        Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8512(b)(2)(B)) 
        authorizes licensing services relating to personal communications over 
        the internet, to improve the ability of the Iranian people to speak 
        freely;
Whereas, on November 16, 2019, Iran's Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli 
        said that the Iranian regime will no longer show ``tolerance'' and 
        ``self-control'' toward the protesters;
Whereas, on November 17, 2019, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 
        called the demonstrators ``villains'' galvanized by foreign enemies and 
        domestic insurgents and ordered Iranian security services to ``implement 
        their duties'' to end the protests;
Whereas, on November 18, 2019, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps deployed 
        to the city of Mahshahr and engaged in mass repression, reportedly 
        killing as many as 100 people;
Whereas several laws provide authorities to designate and sanction elements of 
        the Iranian regime involved in significant corruption or serious human 
        rights abuses, including the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, 
        Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, the Countering America's 
        Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, and the Iran Threat Reduction and 
        Syria Human Rights Act of 2012;
Whereas the Iranian regime was implicated in a June 2018 terrorist plot against 
        a meeting of Iranian opposition activists in Paris;
Whereas Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Basij militia have been 
        sanctioned by the United States for planning and carrying out serious 
        human rights abuses against the Iranian people, including for the cruel 
        and prolonged torture of political dissidents;
Whereas the regime has routinely violated the human rights of Iranian citizens, 
        including by implementing ongoing, systematic, and serious restrictions 
        of freedom of peaceful assembly and association and freedom of opinion 
        and expression, including the continuing closures of media outlets, 
        arrests of journalists, and the censorship of expression in online 
        forums such as blogs and websites;
Whereas the Department of State's 2018 Human Rights Report on Iran noted 
        ``severe restrictions on free expression, the press, and the internet, 
        including censorship, site blocking, and criminalization of libel; 
        substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and 
        freedom of association, such as overly restrictive nongovernmental 
        organization (NGO) laws; egregious restrictions of religious freedom; 
        restrictions on political participation; widespread corruption at all 
        levels of government'';
Whereas, on November 18, 2019, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that, ``The 
        United States is monitoring the ongoing protests in Iran closely. We 
        condemn strongly any acts of violence committed by this regime against 
        the Iranian people and are deeply concerned by reports of several 
        fatalities . . . The Islamic Republic must cease violence against its 
        own people and should immediately restore the ability of all Iranians to 
        access a free and open internet.'';
Whereas, on November 22, 2019, the United States imposed sanctions on Iran's 
        Minister of Information and Communications Technology for his role in 
        shutting down internet access in Iran;
Whereas, on November 18, 2019, the Office of the German Chancellor stated that, 
        ``It is legitimate and deserving of our respect when people courageously 
        air their economic and political grievances, as is currently happening 
        in Iran. The Iranian Government should respond to the current protests 
        with a willingness to engage in dialogue . . . We urge the government in 
        Tehran to respect freedom of assembly and expression.'';
Whereas, on November 20, 2019, the French Foreign Ministry stated that, ``France 
        is following the demonstrations taking place in Iran with concern. It 
        expresses its deep concern at reports that a large number of 
        demonstrators have been killed in the last few days. It reaffirms its 
        attachment to respect for the freedom of expression and to access to 
        means of communication, as well as to the right to demonstrate 
        peacefully. France calls on Iran to comply with its international human 
        rights obligations, in particular the International Covenant on Civil 
        and Political Rights.'';
Whereas, on November 21, 2019, the European Union stated that, ``The protests in 
        several Iranian cities over the past days have, according to reports, 
        led to serious loss of life and left many people injured. We convey our 
        condolences to the families of victims and wish a speedy recovery to 
        those injured. Socio-economic challenges should be addressed through 
        inclusive dialogue and not through the use of violence. We expect Iran's 
        security forces to exercise maximum restraint in handling the protests 
        and for protestors to demonstrate peacefully. Any violence is 
        unacceptable. The rights to freedom of expression and assembly must be 
        guaranteed. We also expect the Iranian authorities to ensure the free 
        flow of information and access to the internet.'';
Whereas Iran is a member of the United Nations, voted for the Universal 
        Declaration of Human Rights, and is a signatory to the International 
        Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, among other international human 
        rights treaties;
Whereas in violation of these and other international obligations, Iranian 
        regime officials continue to violate the fundamental human rights of the 
        Iranian people;
Whereas the Iranian regime has a long history of violent repression of dissent, 
        including--

    (1) in 1988, the Iranian regime carrying out the barbaric mass 
executions of thousands of political prisoners by hanging and firing squad 
for refusing to renounce their political affiliations and in some cases for 
possessing political reading material, including prisoners of conscience, 
teenagers, and pregnant women;

    (2) in 1999, the Iranian regime brutally suppressing a student revolt 
that was one of the largest mass uprisings up until that point in the 
country since 1979;

    (3) following voting irregularities that resulted in the 2009 election 
of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian regime brutally suppressing 
peaceful political dissent from wide segments of civil society during the 
Green Revolution in a cynical attempt to retain its undemocratic grip on 
power; and

    (4) beginning in December 2017, and continuing for several months after 
protests erupted in more than 80 cities, the Iranian regime suppressing 
such protests with repressive force that resulted in at least 25 deaths and 
4,000 arrests;

Whereas, on January 9, 2018, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed 
        H. Res. 676, a resolution supporting the rights of the people of Iran to 
        free expression and condemning the Iranian regime for its crackdown on 
        legitimate protests; and
Whereas, on December 5, 2019, the Department of State identified the Great 
        Tehran Penitentiary (Fashafuyeh) and Qarchack Prison as entities 
        responsible for gross violations of internationally recognized human 
        rights in Iran and subject to the imposition of sanctions under section 
        106 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (22 
        U.S.C. 9405): Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) stands with the people of Iran that are engaged in 
        legitimate and peaceful protests against an oppressive, corrupt 
        regime;
            (2) condemns the Iranian regime's serious human rights 
        abuses against the Iranian people, significant corruption, and 
        destabilizing activities abroad;
            (3) commends the statements of support for the protesters 
        from the executive branch and key allies;
            (4) calls on all democratic governments and institutions to 
        clearly support the Iranian people's right to live in a free 
        society;
            (5) demands that the Iranian regime abide by its 
        international obligations with respect to human rights and 
        civil liberties, including freedoms of assembly, speech, and 
        press;
            (6) urges the Administration to work to convene emergency 
        sessions of the United Nations Security Council and the United 
        Nations Human Rights Council to condemn the ongoing human 
        rights violations perpetrated by the Iranian regime and 
        establish a mechanism by which the Security Council can monitor 
        such violations;
            (7) encourages the Administration to expedite the license 
        of communications technology to Iran to improve the ability of 
        the Iranian people to speak freely;
            (8) calls on companies to reject requests by the regime to 
        cut off the Iranian people from social media and other 
        communications platforms;
            (9) respects the proud history and rich culture of the 
        Iranian nation and fully supports efforts by the people of Iran 
        to promote the establishment of basic freedoms that build the 
        foundation for the emergence of a freely elected, open, and 
        democratic political system;
            (10) supports the right of Iranian dissidents to assemble, 
        without fear of persecution and violence, whether in Iran or 
        internationally; and
            (11) urges the President and the Secretary of State to work 
        with the international community to ensure that violations of 
        human rights are part of all formal and informal multilateral 
        or bilateral discussions with and regarding Iran.
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