Wyden, Boozman, and 19 Colleagues Introduce Resolution Condemning Baha’i Oppression in Iran
The Iranian Baha'i community is the largest religious minority in Iran, with more than 300,000 members
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Senator John Boozman, R-Ark., today led 19 Senate colleagues in introducing a bipartisan resolution condemning Iran’s government for persecuting members of the Baha’i faith.
“The Iranian government has squeezed every freedom from members of the Baha’i community,” Wyden said. “Imprisoning and torturing Baha’is and taking away their rights is immoral, unjust, and just plain wrong. The Baha'i community in Iran deserves to freely practice their religion without fear of state-sponsored persecution. I will not stop making it loud and clear that we will not stand for any part of Iran's full-scale attack on the Baha'i community.”
“The persecution of members of the Baha’i community in Iran remains alarming and disturbing,” Boozman said. “As Americans, we are blessed with religious freedom and stand with members of the Baha’i faith in their pursuit of this fundamental principle. This resolution reaffirms our commitment to their cause and solidarity against efforts to repress minority religious expression.”
“The Iranian government’s relentless assault on its Baha’i minority is an outrage that demands immediate action,” Schakowsky said. “We are reintroducing this bipartisan resolution, which passed the House of Representatives last Congress, to send a strong, unified message from the United States to the government of Iran condemning its grave human rights abuses. The United States and our allies must use every diplomatic tool available to hold Iran accountable and put a stop to this hate-fueled campaign once and for all.”
“The Iranian regime’s assault on the peaceful Baha'i community is abhorrent and must be condemned by leaders across the free world,” McCaul said. “I’m proud to have helped this resolution pass the House and look forward to the Senate following suit. Together, on a bipartisan and bicameral basis, the United States Congress is sending a clear message that we stand with the Baha’i community and will not tolerate Iran's efforts to silence, intimidate, and persecute members of the Baha’i faith.”
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Il., and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, are leading companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Iranian government refuses to recognize Baha’is and continues to persecute them by seizing their personal property, denying their access to education and employment, and detaining them based only on their religious beliefs, according to human rights observers and the U.S. State Department.
The Iranian government’s reprehensible persecution of its Baha’i minority is a continued violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In addition to denouncing the Iranian government’s oppression of the Baha’i community, Wyden and Boozman’s resolution calls on Iran to immediately release imprisoned Baha’is and put an end to its state-sponsored hate campaign against them. The resolution encourages the U.S. president and secretary of state to condemn Iran’s continued rights violations and imposes sanctions on Iranian government officials who are responsible for those abuses.
Wyden has a longtime history in the Senate of standing up for free expression and human rights around the world. He has introduced a resolution in support of Iran’s Baha’is every year since 2009.
The legislation is cosponsored by Senators John Boozman, R-Ark., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Chris Coons, D-Del., Peter Welch, D-Vt., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho., Chris Murphy D-Conn, and Jeanne Shaheen-D-N.H.
The text of the resolution is here.
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