Title: Condemning the Government of Iran's state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution condemns Iran's state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the international covenants on human rights. Further, it calls on Iran to immediately release all imprisoned or detained Baha'is, and it urges the President and the Department of State to impose sanctions on Iranian officials and others who are responsible for serious human rights abuses, including abuses against Iran's Baha'i community.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 744 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 744

Condemning the Government of Iran's state-sponsored persecution of its 
     Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and 
                           Political Rights.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 25, 2021

  Mr. Deutch (for himself, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Wilson of South 
 Carolina, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Schneider, Mrs. Wagner, Mr. 
    Connolly, and Mr. Smith of New Jersey) 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 Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and 
                           Political Rights.

Whereas in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2006, 
        2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020, 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;
Whereas since 1979, Iranian 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 United Nations General Assembly Resolution on the situation of human 
        rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (A/RES/75/191), dated December 
        16, 2020, expresses serious concerns about--

    (1) ``ongoing severe limitations and increasing restrictions on the 
right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief'';

    (2) ``restrictions on the establishment of places of worship'';

    (3) ``undue restrictions on burials carried out in accordance with 
religious tenets'';

    (4) ``attacks against places of worship and burial''; and

    (5) ``other human rights violations, including but not limited to 
harassment, intimidation, persecution, arbitrary arrests and detention, and 
incitement to hatred that leads to violence against persons belonging to 
recognized and unrecognized religious minorities'';

Whereas, on January 29, 2020, the United States Commission on International 
        Religious Freedom ``condemned an Iranian court order allowing 
        authorities to confiscate properties owned by Baha'is in the village of 
        Ivel in Mazandaran Province'';
Whereas in the 2020 Annual Report of the United States Commission on 
        International Religious Freedom issued in April 2021, it is reported 
        that the Government of Iran--

    (1) ``continued to arrest Baha'is and impose lengthy prison sentences 
on them. Between 50 and 100 Baha'is were reported to be in prisons in Iran 
during 2020, despite the widespread prevalence of COVID-19''; and

    (2) ``continued its systematic repression of Baha'is, including a mass 
raid on about 50 Baha'i houses in late November. A court official in Shiraz 
threatened to `uproot' Baha'is in the city in late spring'';

Whereas the Iran section of the Department of State's 2020 Report on 
        International Religious Freedom issued in May 2021 provides, in part--

    (1) ``NGOs reported that as of October 27 [2020], there were 38 Baha'is 
- 16 men and 22 women - in prison.'';

    (2) ``The law bars Baha'is from founding or operating their own 
educational institutions. A Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology 
order requires universities to exclude Baha'is from access to higher 
education, or to expel them if their religious affiliation becomes 
known.'';

    (3) ``On November 1 [2020], Iran International and the international 
human rights news agency HRANA reported that authorities barred from higher 
education at least 17 Baha'is who participated in the year's nationwide 
university entrance examinations, despite their being academically 
qualified.'';

    (4) ``In May [2020], parliament passed the legislation on `misguided 
sects' in the form of amendments to articles 499 and 500 of the Islamic 
Penal Code. The legislation stated that those found guilty of `deviant 
psychological manipulation' or `propaganda contrary to Islam' could be 
labeled as members of a `sect' and punished with imprisonment, flogging, 
fines, or the death penalty. A human rights lawyer living in Europe stated, 
`The law should protect citizens, including Christian converts and Baha'is, 
against the government, but in Iran the law has become a tool to justify 
the government's violent treatment of converts and other unrecognized 
minorities.'''; and

    (5) ``The government bars Baha'is from all government employment and 
forbids Baha'i participation in the governmental social pension system. 
Baha'is may not receive compensation for injury or crimes committed against 
them and may not inherit property. A religious fatwa from the Supreme 
Leader encourages citizens to avoid all dealings with Baha'is.'';

Whereas, on April 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of State Office of Religious 
        Freedom tweeted, ``We are concerned by amendments to Articles 499 & 500 
        of Iran's penal code, which may lead to more prosecutions of individuals 
        for exercising their freedoms of religion, belief & expression. We call 
        on Iran to uphold these human rights for all, including religious 
        minorities.'';
Whereas the Baha'i International Community documented a more than 50 percent 
        increase in hate propaganda directed against the Baha'is in the 12-month 
        period ending in August 2020 compared to prior years, with more than 
        9,500 such articles, videos, or web pages appearing in Iranian 
        government-controlled or government-sponsored media;
Whereas, on March 10, 2021, the Baha'i International Community condemned ``an 
        official Iranian directive which instructs local authorities in the city 
        of Sari, in the northern province of Mazandaran, to `conduct strict 
        controls' on the Baha'is in the city by `monitoring their operations', 
        and introduce measures to`identify Baha'i students' in order to `bring 
        them into Islam''';
Whereas Iran is a member of the United Nations and a signatory to both the 
        Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on 
        Civil and Political Rights, among other international human rights 
        treaties, without reservation;
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 individuals who are ``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
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the Government of Iran's state-sponsored 
        persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation 
        of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 
        International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
            (2) calls on the Government of Iran--
                    (A) to immediately release the imprisoned or 
                detained Baha'is and all other prisoners held solely on 
                account of their religion;
                    (B) to end its state-sponsored campaign of hate 
                propaganda against the Baha'is; and
                    (C) to reverse state-imposed policies denying 
                Baha'is and members of other religious minorities equal 
                opportunities to higher education, earning a 
                livelihood, due process under the law, and the free 
                exercise of religious practices;
            (3) calls on the President and the Secretary of State, in 
        cooperation with responsible nations, to immediately condemn 
        the Government of Iran's continued violation of human rights, 
        and demand the immediate release of prisoners held solely on 
        account of their religion; and
            (4) urges the President and the Secretary of State to 
        utilize available authorities to impose sanctions on officials 
        of the Government of Iran and other individuals directly 
        responsible for serious human rights abuses, including abuses 
        against the Baha'i community of Iran.
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