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(1) expects the Government of Iran to uphold the rights of all its nationals, including the members

of the Bahá'í Faith, in a manner consistent with

Iran's obligations under the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights and other international agreements

guaranteeing the civil and political rights of its citizens, including freedom of thought, conscience, and religion;

(2) condemns the deliberate policy of the Government of Iran to undermine the viability of the Bahá'í community;

(3) urges the Government of Iran to permit Bahá'í students to attend, and Bahá'í faculty to

teach, at Iranian universities, as well as to permit the Bahá'í Institute of Higher Education to continue teaching functions among Bahá'í youth without disturbance;

(4) urges the Government of Iran to eliminate employment discrimination against Bahá'ís in both public and private sectors, and to distribute pensions and unemployment benefits without respect to belief

or religious affiliation;

(5) urges the Government of Iran to dem

onstrate its commitment to human rights, democ

racy, and religious freedom by making a legislative

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enactment to clarify that the civil and political rights

of all unrecognized minorities or communities, such

as the Bahá'ís, are to be respected regardless of

their religious beliefs;

(6) urges the Government of Iran to allow the reestablishment of Bahá'í institutions, to give individuals the freedom to manifest their religion, and to return all confiscated Bahá'í properties;

(7) urges the United States representative to the United Nations to pursue a resolution on human rights violations in Iran, including specific mention

of the the situation of the Bahá'ís, and calls for reestablishment of the mandate of the Special Representative on Iran at the United Nations Commis

sion on Human Rights; and

(8) calls upon the President to continue

(A) to assert that the United States regards the human rights practices of the Government of Iran, particularly its treatment of the Bahá'í community and other religious minorities, as a significant factor in the foreign policy of the United States Government regarding Iran; and

(B) to encourage other governments to continue to appeal to the Government of Iran,

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and to cooperate with other governments and international organizations, including the United Nations and its agencies, in efforts to

protect the religious rights of the Bahá'ís and other minorities.

AMENDMENT TO H. CON. RES. 319

OFFERED BY MS. ROS-LEHTINEN

H.L.C.

Strike the sixth clause of the preamble and insert the following:

Whereas for the past three years the United Nations Commission on Human Rights has failed to pass a resolution condemning human rights abuses in Iran;

Strike the seventh clause of the preamble and insert the following:

Whereas the failure of the United Nations Commission

on Human Rights to pass a resolution regarding human rights abuses in Iran may erroneously suggest that the Government of Iran has improved its human rights record and has stopped its policy to systematically destroy the Bahai community;

In the eighth clause of the preamble, strike "to adopt the United Nations resolution" and insert "to adopt a United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution".

In the tenth clause of the preamble, strike "once it becomes known that they are Bahais".

Page 5, beginning on line 25, strike "making a legislative enactment to clarify" and insert "legally clarifying".

108TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION

H. CON. RES. 363

Expressing the grave concern of Congress regarding the continuing gross violations of human rights and civil liberties of the Syrian people by the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 11, 2004

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. PENCE, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. BERMAN, Mrs. Jo ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Ms. BERKLEY, and Mr. LANTOS) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the grave concern of Congress regarding the continuing gross violations of human rights and civil liberties of the Syrian people by the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic.

Whereas the Syrian Arab Republic is governed by an authoritarian regime which, according to the 2003 Department of State Report on Human Rights Practices, continues to commit serious human rights abuses, including “the use of torture" and "arbitrary arrest and detention";

Whereas hundreds of political prisoners in Syria have never been tried for any offense, in violation of Article 9 of the

IV