Resolution calls on Iran to End its Reprehensible Treatment of Baha’is, Urges the Biden Administration to Push for Release of Religious Prisoners and Sanction Individuals Responsible for Carrying out Human Rights Violations
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., applauded the passage of his bipartisan resolution to acknowledge the religious persecution of the Baha’i community in Iran, and to call for the U.S. government to take action against those responsible.
“The Iranian government’s long history of harassing, dehumanizing, and persecuting the Baha’i community in all forms is only getting longer, and worse. I’m proud the Senate took a stand and said today that Iran’s heinous treatment of the Baha’is is unacceptable and demands a response from the U.S. government,” Wyden said. “I won’t stop calling for action until the Baha’is in Iran can practice their religion freely, safely, and without fear.”
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’is 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 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 for an end to the state-sponsored campaign of hate propaganda against the Bahai’s. Additionally, the resolution encourages President Joe Biden and the Secretary of State to condemn Iran’s continued violation of human rights and 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 resolution is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., John Boozman, R-Ark., 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., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Deb Fischer. R-Neb., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., James Lankford, R-Okla., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., John Hoeven, R-N.D., Laphonza Butler, D-Calif., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Jack Reed, D-R.I.
The text of the resolution is here.