,,iii  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #cfh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,january  
#d1 #bjah ,mr4 ,corker 7for himself1    
,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 ,mr4         
,menendez1 and ,mr4 ,johnson7 submitted 
the following resolution2 which was     
referred to the ,committee on ,foreign  
,relations  ,,resolution  ,supporting   
the right of all ,iranian citizens to   
have their voices heard4  ,whereas1 on  
,december #bh1 #bjag1 ,iranian citizens 
initiated protests objecting to the     
system of entrenched corruption and     
impoverishment in ,iran1 as well as the 
,government of ,iran's foreign policy of
 supporting terrorism2 ,whereas these   
protests began in the city of ,mashhad  
and rapidly spread throughout urban and 
rural populations across ,iran2 ,whereas
 these protests constitute the most     
significant anti-government protests in 
,iran since ,june #bjji2 ,whereas       
reports indicate that ,iranian citizens 
have expressed numerous economic        

grievances1 including the regime's      
widespread corruption and investment of 
resources in regional conflicts2        
,whereas reports indicate that many     
hundreds of ,iranians have been arrested
 and dozens killed in connection with   
the protests2 ,whereas the ,government  
of ,iran has shut down mobile internet  
access and is working to block access to
 social media applications used to      
organize and publicize the protests2    
,whereas online social networking and   
information sharing sites such as       
,telegram1 ,instagram1 and ,twitter have
 been blocked2 ,whereas the ,government 
of ,iran has routinely violated the     
human rights of its citizens1 including 
ongoing1 systematic1 and serious        
restrictions of freedom of peaceful     
assembly and association and freedom of 
opinion and expression1 including the   
continuing closures of media outlets1   
arrests of journalists1 and the         
censorship of expression in online      
forums such as blogs and websites2      

,whereas the #bjaf ,department of ,state
 ,human ,rights ,report on ,iran noted  
severe restrictions on civil liberties1 
including the freedoms of assembly1     
association1 speech1 religion1 and      
press4 ,other human rights problems     
included abuse of due process combined  
with use of capital punishment for      
crimes that do not meet the requirements
 of due process1 as well as cruel1      
inhuman1 or degrading treatment or      
punishment2 and disregard for the       
physical integrity of persons1 whom     
authorities arbitrarily and unlawfully  
detained1 tortured1 or killed42 ,whereas
 the ,government of ,iran has previously
 responded to protests with a concerted 
campaign of intimidation1 repression1   
and violence1 including human rights    
abuses against ,iranian citizens2       
,whereas the ,government of ,iran       
continues to operate with hostility and 
impunity toward journalists1 reformers1 
ethnic and religious minorities1        
political opponents1 human rights       

defenders1 women's rights groups1       
student activists1 and others1 including
 through unlawful and arbitrary         
detentions1 arrests1 politically        
motivated sentencing1 physical assaults1
 and killings2 and ,whereas1 on         
,december #bi1 #bjag1 the ,department of
 ,state strongly condemned the arrest of
 peaceful protesters and noted1 ,iran's 
leaders have turned a wealthy country   
with a rich history and culture into an 
economically depleted rogue state whose 
chief exports are violence1 bloodshed1  
and chaos43 ,now1 therefore1 be it      
,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 supports the   
right of all ,iranian citizens1 many of 
whom braved the persistent and pervasive
 threat of censorship1 arrest1 physical 
harassment1 and death1 to have their    
voices heard2  7#b7 calls on the        
,government of ,iran to respect the     
rights of the people of ,iran to freedom
 of speech1 press1 religion1            
association1 and assembly2  7#c7        
condemns the ,government of ,iran's     

persistent human rights violations2     
7#d7 warns the ,government of ,iran     
against any violence or retribution     
targeting peaceful protestors2  7#e7    
objects to acts of censorship1          
intimidation1 and other restrictions on 
freedom of the press1 freedom of speech1
 and freedom of expression in ,iran2    
7#f7 encourages the ,president1 the     
,secretary of ,state1 and the ,united   
,states ,ambassador to the ,united      
,nations 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           
,government of ,iran and establish a    
monitoring mechanism by which the       
,council can monitor such violations2   
7#g7 calls on 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 ,rights2 and   
7#h7 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
 ,iran4