February 21, 2023

Wyden, Rubio, Durbin, and Boozman lead 20 Senate Colleagues to Introduce Bipartisan Resolution Condemning Repression of Iranian Baha’i

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and John Boozman, R-Ark., today lead 20 Senate colleagues to introduce a bipartisan resolution condemning Iran’s government for persecuting the 300,000 members of the Baha’i faith.

“Baha’is in Iran deserve to practice their faith freely and safely without fear of persecution,” Wyden said. “The Iranian government continues its reprehensible persecution of the Baha'i community by wrongly subjecting Baha’is to arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, and denying them access to higher education and certain occupations, in violation of Iran’s own international commitments. This resolution will send a message that the Senate supports a foreign policy that promotes human rights and denounces religious persecution.”

“It is past time for the state-sponsored religious persecution of the Baha’is in Iran to come to an end,” Durbin said. “The Baha’i community in Iran deserves the same basic human rights enjoyed by the Baha’i community in Illinois. This resolution affirms that the American people stand with the Baha’i in their quest for basic human rights: security and religious freedom.”

“The injustices perpetrated on members of the Baha’i community by the Iranian regime must end,” Boozman said. “We are fortunate to have religious freedom protections in the U.S. and I’m proud to support this resolution that promotes this basic human right.”

The Iranian Baha'i community is the largest religious minority in Iran with membership of more than 300,000 people. Unlike some other religious minorities such as Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians, Iran's Baha'is have never been recognized by their government and are often persecuted by the Iranian regime. The regime often seizes personal property, denies Baha'i access to education and employment opportunities and detains or imprisons Baha'is based solely on their religious beliefs.

This resolution denounces 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.  The resolution calls for the immediate release of imprisoned and detained Baha’is held solely on account of their religion and end their state-sponsored campaign of hate propaganda against the Bahai’s.  Additionally, the resolution encourages President Biden and the Secretary of State to condemn Iran’s continued violation of human rights and to impose sanctions on Iranian Government officials responsible for such abuses. 

Since 2009, Wyden has led a Senate resolution acknowledging the plight of the Baha’i community in Iran. 

The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., Ben Cardin, D-Md., Jeanne Shaheen, N.H., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Chris Coons, D-Del., Peter Welch, D-Vt., Mike Braun, R-Ind., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. , and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.

The text of the resolution is here.

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