This resolution is Congress formally condemning the Iranian government for systematically persecuting the Baha'i religious minority. The bill documents decades of abuse: over 200 Baha'i leaders have been killed or executed since 1979, more than 10,000 have been fired from government and university jobs, and thousands more are currently imprisoned. The persecution includes denying Baha'is access to higher education, preventing them from working in many jobs, seizing their property and businesses, restricting their burial practices, and arresting them simply for their faith.

The resolution highlights that this persecution is official Iranian government policy, written into their laws, and affects virtually every aspect of Baha'is' lives. It notes that women in the Baha'i community face particularly severe targeting—about two-thirds of imprisoned Iranian Baha'is are women, and there's been a dramatic increase in arrests of Baha'i women since 2022. International human rights organizations and the United Nations have called out these abuses as violations of human rights agreements that Iran has signed.

Congress is calling on the Iranian government to immediately release all imprisoned Baha'is, stop the propaganda campaign against them, and reverse policies that discriminate against Baha'is in education and employment. The resolution also urges the U.S. President and Secretary of State to condemn these violations and use available tools to impose economic sanctions on Iranian officials responsible for these human rights abuses.

Condemning the Government of Iran's state-sponsored persecution of the Baha'i minority in Iran and the continued violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Schakowsky, Janice D.

<p>This resolution condemns Iran's state-sponsored persecution of the Baha'i religious minority and Iran's continued violation of international human rights treaties. The resolution calls on Iran to (1) immediately release Baha'is and others imprisoned or detained solely on account of religion, (2) end its state-sponsored campaign of hate propaganda against the Baha'is, and (3) reverse certain policies that discriminate against Baha'is and other religious minorities. The resolution also urges the President and the Department of State to impose sanctions on Iranian officials and others who are responsible for serious human rights abuses, including abuses against Iran's Baha'i community.</p>