1. BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS
(
IRAN) S. 2799:
Introduced
11/19/09 by Sen. Dodd (D-CT) "An original bill to
expand the
Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, to provide for the divestment of assets in
Iran by State and local
governments
and other entities, to identify locations of concern with respect to
transshipment,
reexportation, or diversion of certain sensitive items to
Iran, and for other
purposes." This is the omnibus Iran Sanctions
bill
marked up in the Banking Committee on
10/29/09 - as reported in the
Round-Up. The bill has now been reported out of
Committee (Report number 111-99) and placed on the Senate Legislative
Calendar;
given the very crowded Senate calendar for the remainder of the year,
Senate
sources report that the bill is not expected to move until the
beginning of
next year, at the earliest. Neither the
bill text nor the text of the report is available publicly online as of
this
writing.
(
IRAN)
S. Res. 355: Introduced
11/19/09 by Sen. Levin (D-MI)
and 6
cosponsors, "A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the
Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has systematically violated
its
obligations to uphold human rights provided for under its constitution
and
international law." Passed by the Senate
11/19/09 by unanimous consent.
APN strongly supports this
resolution.
(
IRAN)
H.Con. Res. 209: Introduced 11/5/09 by Rep. Fortenberry (R-NE),
Recognizing
the 30th anniversary of
the Iranian hostage crisis, during which 52 United States citizens were
held
hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981, and
for other
purposes." Passed under suspension of
the rules
11/7/09 by voice vote.
(ARAB
LEAGUE BOYCOTT) HR 4046: Introduced
11/6/09 by Rep. Berkley (D-NV)
and 9
cosponsors, "To enhance the reporting requirements on the status of the
Arab
League trade boycott of
Israel and other trade
boycotts of
Israel."
Referred to the House Committee
on Ways and Means. The primary
cosponsors issued a
press
release announcing the bill. For background
on the boycott and its current impact (or lack thereof), see the most
recent
Congressional
Research Report on the topic (August 2008).
(
JORDAN) H. Res. 833:
Introduced
10/14/09 by Rep. Schiff (D-CA)
and having
34 cosponsors, "Honoring
the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations
between the
United States and the Hashemite
Kingdom of
Jordan, the 10th anniversary of the accession to the throne of His
Majesty King
Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, and for other purposes." Passed
under suspension of the roles
11/7/09 by voice vote.
(
YEMEN) S. Res. 341: Introduced
11/5/09 by Sen. Cardin (D-MD)
and 2
cosponsors, "A resolution supporting peace, security, and innocent
civilians
affected by conflict in
Yemen."
11/17/09 Ordered reported out
of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee without amendment favorably;
11/18/09 placed on Senate
Legislative Calendar.
2. LEVIN STATEMENT ON S. RES. 355
On
11/19/09, Senator Carl Levin
(D-MI)
delivered the following statement on the Senate floor in support of S.
Res.
355.
APN strongly supports S.
Res. 355 and
commends the Senate for its swift passage.
"Mr.
President, recent events have made abundantly clear that the Government
of the
Islamic Republic of Iran is failing, and failing badly, to live up to
its own professed ideals and its international commitments to protect
the human
rights of its citizens and others. I urge my colleagues to join with me
in
supporting a resolution, S. Res. 355, submitted today, condemning
Iran's deplorable human
rights
record, calling for an immediate release of those wrongfully imprisoned
in
violation of their rights, and urging the restoration of meaningful
human
rights to all of
Iran's citizens.
"
Iran's 1979 constitution,
the
result of a revolution against years of political and human-rights
abuses by
the regime of the Shah, guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms.
Moreover,
Iran is a signatory to four
major
human rights treaties. And yet its shameful record of executions that
contravene
international standards; of repression of the rights of women and
minorities,
including religious minorities; of outrageous attacks on the rights of
peaceful
assembly and protest; and of unwarranted arrest and detention of
foreigners,
including Americans, all make a mockery of these commitments.
"Just
last week, the Iranian Government again demonstrated its contempt for
human
rights and the rule of law when it announced it would pursue espionage
charges
against three young Americans who crossed Iran's border with Iraq.
These allegations are just the latest telling example on a long list of
abuses.
"American
Robert Levinson has been missing in
Iran for more than two
years,
during which the Iranian regime has denied having any information on
his whereabouts
and has blocked international attempts to discover his fate. In January
2009,
the Iranian Government jailed Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi
and
charged and convicted her of espionage after a one-hour show trial that
mocked
even the most basic standards of due process and law, and then
sentenced her to
eight years in prison before releasing her a few months later. Esha
Momeni, a
student at
California State University, Northridge, was
imprisoned last
fall for her peaceful activities in support of women's rights in
Iran. The regime's abuses
have even
touched Nobel peace prize winner Shrin Ebadi, whose Center for
Defenders of
Human Rights was forced to close by the government in December 2008.
"None of
these recent abuses, however, as deplorable as they are, have shocked
the
conscience of the world so severely as the Iranian Government's actions
in
response to this year's disputed presidential elections. Prompted by
justifiable concern that their will had been thwarted in a rigged
election, thousands
of Iranian citizens took to the streets, firmly but peacefully
exercising their
rights and demanding the democracy their government purports to embody.
The
regime's response was to launch violent, heavy-handed attacks against
these
peaceful protestors, using government security forces and paramilitary
militias
under government control to repress the legitimate expression of a
valid
grievance. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
reports that
this violence resulted in at least a dozen deaths, and hundreds of
injuries.
"In the
aftermath, the Iranian Government imprisoned dozens of its citizens and
conducted a mass trial of more 100 of them, many of whom bore clear
signs of
physical abuse. The government sentenced at least four of these
prisoners to
death on the basis of dubious confessions, likely produced under duress
and
abuse.
"It is
proper and appropriate for the Senate to make clear its determination
that
these acts violate international human rights standards,
Iran's own professed
commitments,
and common decency. The resolution introduced today would record the
Senate's
condemnation of Iran's woeful human rights record; remind the Iranian
government of its domestic and international commitments to human
rights; call
for the immediate release of all those held for their peaceful exercise
of
rights of free expression, assembly and association; and urge Iran to
extend full legal rights to those imprisoned. It calls for the Iranian
Government to guarantee humane treatment of those in detention; to halt
immediately state-sanctioned violence against its own citizens; to
allow
unrestricted communication and access to information; and to respect
the rights
of the Iranian people to free speech, a free press, free expression of
religion, freedom of association, and freedom of assembly.
"It is a
tragic irony that the government perpetrating these deplorable acts of
violence
and abuse came to power three decades ago because the Iranian people
rejected
the abuses and violence of a previous regime. Now following in the
repressive
footsteps of that previous regime, the current Iranian Government has
been
widely condemned by the community of nations. Passage of this
resolution would
add the U.S. Senate's loud and clear voice of condemnation to the many
voices
inside
Iran, and out, calling for
the
restoration of basic human rights for the Iranian people."