US Senate Resolution against Iran

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

Mr. KAUFMAN (for himself, Mr. CASEY, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. MCCAIN, Mrs.
SHAHEEN, Mr. KYL, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. MENENDEZ,
Mr. GRAHAM, and Mr. LEVIN) submitted the following resolution;

RESOLUTION Marking the one year anniversary of the June 12, 2009,
presidential election in Iran, and condemning ongoing
human rights abuses in Iran.

Whereas the Government of Iran has systematically undertaken
a campaign of violence, persecution, and intimidation
against Iranian citizens who have peacefully protested
the results of the deeply flawed Iran presidential
elections of June 12, 2009;

Whereas the 2009 Department of State Country Report on
Human Rights Practices in Iran found that ‘‘[t]he government
[of Iran] severely limited citizens’ right to peacefully
change their government through free and fair elections’’
and ‘‘. . . severely restricted the right to privacy
and civil liberties, including freedoms of speech and the
press, assembly, association, and movement’’;

Whereas hundreds of thousands of peaceful demonstrators
gathered in the streets of Iran in the aftermath of the
June 12, 2009, elections, and dozens of innocent Iranians
were killed and more than 4,000 were arbitrarily arrested
by police and security forces and the Basij militia;

Whereas hundreds of Iranian citizens remain in detention
and more than 250 prominent activists and demonstrators
were tried in mass ‘‘show trials’’ that began in August
2009, and at least 50 of these defendants have received
sentences ranging from six months imprisonment
to death;

Whereas, on June 20, 2009, a member of the Basij militia
reportedly shot and killed 27 year-old student Neda
Agha-Soltan, whose murder was recorded on a mobile
phone camera, disseminated via the Internet, and became
a rallying cry for the political opposition and Green
Movement;

Whereas, since the election, the Government of Iran has systemically
restricted and suppressed free press, free expression,
free assembly, and free access to the Internet
and other forms of connective technology in order to limit
the flow of information and silence political opposition
and other forms of popular dissent;

Whereas the Government of Iran has a deplorable human
rights record that includes severe restrictions on the freedom
of religion or belief, denial of the freedom of assembly
and the rights of civil society, systematic torture and
ill-treatment, and judicial proceedings that lack due process;

Whereas the Government of Iran continues to operate with
hostility and impunity toward journalists, reformers, ethnic
and religious minorities, political opponents, human
rights defenders, women’s rights groups, student activists,
and others, including through unlawful and arbitrary
detentions, arrests, politically motivated sentencing, physical
assaults, and killings;

Whereas human rights activists, journalists, and ethnic and
religious minorities have fled Iran for fear of persecution
and are residing, some in dangerous circumstances, in
neighboring countries seeking refugee status and asylum
in the United States and other countries;

Whereas the Government of Iran has violated its obligations
under the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the
International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;

Whereas the 2010 Freedom House Freedom in the World Report
finds that Iran leads the world in the number of
jailed journalists;

Whereas, since the June 2009 election, the Government of
Iran has restricted foreign press access, banned more
than 60 international media outlets, and jammed international
broadcasts, including those of Radio Free Europe/
Radio Liberty’s Radio Farda, Voice of America’s
Persian News Network, the British Broadcasting Corporation,
and other non-Iranian news services;

Whereas, on December 18, 2009, the United Nations General
Assembly passed a resolution condemning ‘‘serious, ongoing
and recurring human rights violations in Iran’’ and
calling on the Government of Iran to respect its human
rights obligations;

Whereas, on December 27, 2009, the Ashura holiday, at least
eight civilians were killed in confrontations with authorities,
and police reportedly arrested approximately 300 civilians
in relation to popular demonstrations;

Whereas, on February 11, 2010, the anniversary of the Islamic
Revolution, the Government of Iran beat and arrested
numerous protestors, jammed text messaging technology,
slowed and restricted access to the Internet, and
blocked email and news websites, intentionally limiting
the ability of Iranian citizens to communicate and freely
access news and information;

Whereas, on April 19, 2010, the Government of Iran officially
suspended prominent political parties, banned a reformist
newspaper, and sentenced to prison leaders within
the political opposition; and

Whereas activists connected to the 2009 election protests
were recently re-arrested in an attempt to disrupt
planned protests on the one-year anniversary of the election
on June 12, 2010: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate—

(1) solemnly marks one year since the flawed June 12, 2009, presidential election in Iran, and honors Iranian citizens who have lost their lives in peaceful protest since the election;

(2) supports the people of Iran as they seek peaceful and free expression, free speech, free press, free assembly, unfettered access to the Internet, and freedom of religion despite a campaign of intimidation, repressions, and violence perpetrated by the Government of Iran;

(3) commends the people of Iran who have braved the persistent and pervasive threat of censorship, arrest, physical harassment, and death to have their voices heard and peacefully exercise fundamental human rights, as enshrined in the constitution of Iran and international human rights law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, entered into force on March 23, 1976, and ratified by Iran;

(4) condemns the Government of Iran for perpetrating ongoing human rights abuses and for restricting, monitoring, and suppressing freedom of the press, expression, assembly, speech, and religion, as well as free access to the Internet and other forms of connective technology in order to limit the flow of information and silence political opposition and other forms of popular dissent;

(5) denounces the atmosphere of impunity for those who intimidate, harass, and commit violence
against Iranian citizens, and calls for the unconditional release of all political and religious prisoners
in Iran;

(6) urges the President and Secretary of State to mobilize resources to support freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, freedom of the press,
freedom of religion, and freedom of speech in Iran,
especially on the June 12 anniversary of the 2009
presidential election;

(7) encourages the President and Secretary of
State to work with the United Nations Human
Rights Council to condemn the ongoing human
rights violations perpetrated by the Government of
Iran and establish a monitoring mechanism by which
the Council can monitor such violations;

(8) urges the Government of Iran to cooperate
with and allow visits of the United Nations Special
Rapporteurs for Human Rights and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights;

(9) urges the President and 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; and

(10) calls for the immediate return of all missing and detained United States citizens in Iran.