,,iii #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #ge ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #ab1 #bjac,mr4 ,kirk 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 ,mr4 ,bennet1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 ,mr4 ,casey1 ,mr4 ,johanns1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,mr4 ,menendez1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4 ,blunt1 ,mr4 ,boozman1 ,mr4 ,heller1 ,mr4 ,moran1 ,ms4 ,cantwell1 ,mrs4 ,feinstein1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,mr4 ,leahy1 ,ms4 ,collins1 ,ms4 ,warren1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 ,mr4 ,schatz1 ,mr4 ,inhofe1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,mr4 ,toomey1 ,mr4 ,grassley1 ,mr4 ,coburn1 ,ms4 ,mikulski1 ,mr4 ,pryor1 ,mr4 ,tester1 ,mr4 ,cochran1 ,mrs4 ,boxer1 and ,mr4 ,murphy7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,december #ah1 #bjac,reported by ,mr4 ,menendez1 with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble ,december #bj1 #bjac;,considered1 amended1 and agreed to with an amended preamble ,,resolution ,condemning the ,government of ,iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its ,baha'i minority and its continued violation of the ,international ,covenants on ,human ,rights4 ,whereas1 in #aihb1 #aihd1 #aihh1 #aiij1 #aiib1 #aiid1 #aiif1 #bjjj1 #bjjf1 #bjjh1 #bjji1 #bjab1 and #bjac1 ,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 nationals1 including members of the ,baha'i ,faith2 ,whereas the ,united ,states ,commission on ,international ,religious ,freedom #bjac ,report stated that the ,baha'i community has long been subject to particularly severe religious freedom violations1 and that since #aigi1 the government has killed more than #bjj ,baha'i leaders in ,iran and dismissed more than #aj1jjj from government and university jobs1 in addition to prohibiting them from establishing places of worship1 schools1 or any independent religious associations2 ,whereas the ,united ,states ,commission on ,international ,religious ,freedom #bjac ,report found that ,baha'i marriages and divorces are not recognized and ,baha'i holy places and community properties are often seized or destroyed1 and stated1 ,the ,baha'i community faces severe economic pressure1 including denials of jobs in both the public and private sectors and of business licenses4 ,iranian authorities often pressure employers of ,baha'is to dismiss them from private sector employment42 ,whereas the ,department of ,state #bjab ,international ,religious ,freedom ,report stated that the ,government of ,iran prohibits ,baha'is from teaching and practicing their faith and subjects them to many forms of discrimination not faced by members of other religious groups and requires ,baha'is to register with the police2 ,whereas the ,department of ,state #bjab ,international ,religious ,freedom ,report stated that the government raided ,baha'i homes and businesses and confiscated large amounts of private and commercial property1 as well as religious materials1 and found that ,baha'is are regularly denied compensation for injury or criminal victimization2 ,whereas the ,department of ,state #bjab ,international ,religious ,freedom ,report stated that the government1 since the ,islamic ,revolution1 formally denies ,baha'i students access to higher education1 and public and private universities continued to deny admittance and expel ,baha'i students2 ,whereas1 on ,may #bc1 #bjab1 the ,united ,nations ,secretary-,general issued a report 7,a_/,,hrc_/#ai_/hb71 which stated that the ,special ,rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief'''pointed out that the ,islamic ,republic of ,iran had a policy of systematic persecution of persons belonging to the ,baha'i faith1 excluding them from the application of freedom of religion or belief by simply denying that their faith had the status of a religion2 ,whereas1 on ,november #bg1 #bjab1 the ,third ,committee of the ,united ,nations ,general ,assembly adopted a draft resolution 7,a_/,c4#c_/fg_/,l4#ea71 which noted1 ,increased persecution and human rights violations against persons belonging to unrecognized religious minorities1 particularly members of the ,baha'i ,faith and their defenders1 including escalating attacks1 an increase in the number of arrests and detentions1 the restriction of access to higher education on the basis of religion1 the sentencing of twelve ,baha'is associated with ,baha'i educational institutions to lengthy prison terms1 the continued denial of access to employment in the public sector1 additional restrictions on participation in the private sector1 and the de facto criminalization of membership in the ,baha'i ,faith42 ,whereas1 on ,december #bj1 #bjab1 the ,united ,nations ,general ,assembly adopted a resolution 7,a_/,,res_/#fg_/ahb71 which called upon the government of ,iran to eliminate discrimination against1 and exclusion of'''members of the ,baha'i ,faith1 regarding access to higher education1 and to eliminate the criminalization of efforts to provide higher education to ,baha'i youth denied access to ,iranian universities10 and 8to accord all ,baha'is1 including those imprisoned because of their beliefs1 the due process of law and the rights that they are constitutionally guaranteed2 ,whereas1 on ,february #bh1 #bjac1 the ,united ,nations ,special ,rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the ,islamic ,republic of ,iran issued a report 7,a_/,,hrc_/#bb_/ef71 which stated that #aaj ,bahai's are currently detained in ,iran for exercising their faith1 and found that ,baha'is in the cities of ,semnan1 ,gorgon1 and ,hamadan have especially faced increasing persecution over the last three years1 including raids1 arrests1 physical violence1 arson1 vandalism to their homes1 business1 and grave sites1 and government closings of ,baha'i-owned businesses2 ,whereas1 on ,february #bh1 #bjac1 the ,united ,nations ,secretary-,general issued a report 7,a_/,,hrc_/#bb_/dh71 which stated1 ,an ongoing anti-,baha'i media campaign resulted in increasing attacks on its members and their properties4 ,this national campaign that consists of anti-,baha'i pamphlets1 posters1 seminars and the broadcasting of anti-,baha'i speeches on radio networks appears to be tacitly condoned by the authorities4 ,in addition1 anti-,baha'i speeches were reportedly delivered to different audiences including schools1 youth organizations and the general public42 ,whereas1 on ,october #d1 #bjac1 the ,united ,nations ,special ,rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the ,islamic ,republic of ,iran issued a report 7,a_/#fh_/ejc71 which stated1 ,the ,special ,rapporteur continues to observe what appears to be an escalating patter of systematic human rights violations targeting members of the ,baha'i community1 who face arbitrary detention1 torture and ill-treatment1 national security charges for active involvement in religious affairs1 restrictions on religious practice1 denial of higher education1 obstacles to ,state employment and abuses within schools42 ,whereas1 in ,march and ,may of #bjjh1 intelligence officials of the ,government of ,iran in ,mashhad and ,tehran arrested and imprisoned ,mrs4 ,fariba ,kamalabadi1 ,mr4 ,jamaloddin ,khanjani1 ,mr4 ,afif ,naeimi1 ,mr4 ,saeid ,rezaie1 ,mr4 ,behrouz ,tavakkoli1 ,mrs4 ,mahvash ,sabet1 and ,mr4 ,vahid ,tizfahm1 the seven members of the ad hoc leadership group for the ,baha'i community in ,iran1 known as the ,yaran-i-,iran1 or friends of ,iran2 ,whereas1 in ,august #bjaj1 the ,revolutionary ,court in ,tehran sentenced the seven ,baha'i leaders to #bj-year prison terms1 the longest sentences given to any current prisoners of conscience in ,iran1 on charges of spying for ,israel1 insulting religious sanctities1 propaganda against the regime and spreading corruption on earth2 ,whereas the lawyer for these seven leaders1 ,mrs4 ,shirin ,ebadi1 the ,nobel ,laureate1 was denied meaningful or timely access to the prisoners and their files1 and her colleagues and successors as defense counsel were provided extremely limited access1 and ,ms4 ,ebadi stated that there was no evidence to sustain the charges against the seven2 ,whereas1 on ,may #ac1 #bjac1 four ,united ,nations human rights experts1 the ,special ,rapporteur on the situation of human rights in ,iran1 ,ahmed ,shaheed1 the head of the ,working ,group on ,arbitrary ,detention1 ,el ,hadji ,malick ,sow1 the ,special ,rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief1 ,heiner ,bielefeldt1 and the ,independent ,expert on ,minorities issues1 ,rita ,izsk1 released a statement calling on the ,iranian authorities for the immediate release of seven ,baha'i community leaders1 known as the ,yaran1 nearing the fifth anniversary of their arrests1 whose detentions were declared arbitrary by the ,,un ,working ,group on ,arbitrary ,detention1 on #bj ,november #bjjh2 ,whereas1 beginning in ,may #bjaa1 ,government of ,iran officials in four cities conducted sweeping raids on the homes of dozens of individuals associated with the ,baha'i ,institute for ,higher ,education 7,,bihe7 and arrested and detained several educators associated with ,,bihe2 ,whereas1 in ,october #bjaa1 the ,revolutionary ,court in ,tehran sentenced seven of these ,,bihe instructors and administrators1 ,mr4 ,vahid ,mahmoudi1 ,mr4 ,kamran ,mortezaie1 ,mr4 ,mahmoud ,badavam1 ,ms4 ,nooshin ,khadem1 ,mr4 ,farhad ,sedghi1 ,mr4 ,riaz ,sobhani1 and ,mr4 ,ramin ,zibaie1 to prison terms for the crime of membership of the deviant sect of ,baha'ism1 with the goal of taking action against the security of the country1 in order to further the aims of the deviant sect and those of organizations outside the country1 with six of them remaining imprisoned2 ,whereas1 since ,october #bjaa1 six other ,,bihe educators have been arrested and imprisoned1 with ,ms4 ,faran ,hessami1 ,mr4 ,kamran ,rahimian1 and ,mr4 ,shahin ,negari serving #d-year prison terms1 and ,mr4 ,kayvan ,rahimian1 ,dr4 ,foad ,moghaddam1 and ,mr4 ,amanollah ,mostaghim serving #e-year prison terms2 ,whereas the efforts of the ,government of ,iran to collect information on individual ,baha'is have recently intensified as evidenced by a letter1 dated ,november #e1 #bjaa1 from the ,director of the ,department of ,education in the county of ,shahriar in the province of ,tehran1 instructing the directors of schools in his jurisdiction to subtly and in a confidential manner collect information on ,baha'i students2 ,whereas1 since ,september #bjac1 the ,government of ,iran has imprisoned four ,baha'i mothers1 ,taraneh ,torabi1 ,zohreh ,nikayin1 ,neda ,majidi1 and ,elham ,rouzbehi1 along with their infant children1 and ,ms4 ,torabi1 ,ms4 ,nikayin1 and ,ms4 ,rouzbehi remain imprisoned with their children2 ,whereas1 on ,august #bd1 #bjac1 ,mr4 ,ataollah ,rezvani1 an active member of the ,baha'i community of ,bandar ,abbas1 ,iran1 was found shot in his car on the outskirts of the city1 in what may be a religiously motivated murder during a time of increased pressure on ,iran's religious minorities and a surge in anti-,baha'i rhetoric by various clerics2 ,whereas1 in ,september #bjac1 the ,government of ,iran released a number of prisoners of conscience1 and none of the prisoners released were known to be ,baha'is2 ,whereas the ,government of ,iran is party to the ,international ,covenants on ,human ,rights and is in violation of its obligations under the ,covenants2 and ,whereas the ,comprehensive ,iran ,sanctions1 ,accountability1 and ,divestment ,act of #bjaj 7,public ,law #aaa-aie7 authorizes the ,president and the ,secretary of ,state to impose sanctions on individuals responsible for or complicit in1 or responsible for ordering1 controlling1 or otherwise directing1 the commission of serious human rights abuses against citizens of ,iran or their family members on or after ,june #ab1 #bjji3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 condemns the ,government of ,iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its ,baha'i minority and its continued violation of the ,international ,covenants on ,human ,rights2 7#b7 calls on the ,government of ,iran to immediately release the seven imprisoned leaders1 the twelve imprisoned educators1 and all other prisoners held solely on account of their religion2 7#c7 calls on the ,president and ,secretary of ,state1 in cooperation with responsible nations1 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 religion2 and 7#d7 urges the ,president and ,secretary of ,state to utilize all available authorities1 including the ,comprehensive ,iran ,sanctions1 ,accountability1 and ,divestment ,act of #bjaj1 to impose sanctions on officials of the ,government of ,iran and other individuals directly responsible for serious human rights abuses1 including abuses against the ,baha'i community of ,iran4