MS. SHELTON. Well, if I can use the analogy of the relationship of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment to torture, I would say you can take the same approach toward religious discrimination and religious persecution. That is, a religious persecution is an aggravated form of religious discrimination aimed at the ultimate destruction of the group involved. In international jurisprudence torture has been defined as an aggravated form of cruel and inhuman treatment. I would say the same could be done with regard to persecution as an aggravated form of religious discrimination. Mr. BONKER. We need to really struggle with the definition because if you were to incorporate religious persecution into section 116, and section 502B, one referring to economic assistance and the other to security assistance we need to have a good idea of the definition. Ms. SHELTON. It is difficult because, as I say, the term does not exist in any human rights instrument so it would be constructing a new term which would have to have its own definition. Mr. BONKER. Defining disappearances was another interesting challenge for the Congress. Because if a person has disappeared it is hard to really have the evidence to back up the charge. On the other hand, there is a great deal of evidence when so many people have disappeared as a result of government activity. We have successfully incorporated that into these two sections of the law. I am not sure we are going to be able to do the same with religious persecution. Mr. HYDE. Mr. Chairman, may I ask unanimous consent that Congressman Derwinski have leave to submit a statement for the record on the Baha'is in Iran? Mr. BONKER. Without objection that will be ordered. PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD J. Derwinski, a Representative IN Mr. Chairman, as a cosponsor of H. Con. Res. 249, the resolution introduced by my colleague, Rep. John Porter, condemning religious persecution by national Governments, I want to join him in urging that special attention be given by the Subcommittee to the plight of the Baha'is in Iran. Recognition of the persecution by the Government of Iran of people of the Baha'i faith in that country has been neglected for too long by the media. Executions of Baha'i leaders in Iran, confiscation of property, unjust imprisonment based solely on their faith must be called to the attention of the world. I have raised this issue on the Floor of the House and have called my concern about this tragedy to the attention of the Secretary General of the United Nations. It is ironic that the nations of the world are neglecting this obvious case of massive religious persecution. Entities such as the U.N. are strangely silent. I hope that the Subcommittee will focus on this particularly blatant case of religious persecution of Baha'is in Iran. Mr. BONKER. Both of you have given the subcommittee some good examples, and that will give us more specifics to look at as we proceed with these hearings. You made suggestions that perhaps we ought to look at the Islamic faith in general. Others have suggested that perhaps we ought to have a hearing focusing exclusively on the Baha'is. There has been a lot of concern about the Ethiopian Jews, because apparently they are the victims of repression in that country. There have been several other examples suggested to the subcommittee. We could focus on specific and acute examples of religious persecution or kind of look at continents-Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, or Africa, or Asia. Could you help give the subcommittee some direction as to how we should proceed after we complete the series on the general overview? MS. SHELTON. With regard to defining persecution one direction you might take would be to consider the question of what is religious activity; when is a religion being persecuted for its religious activities, and how do you distinguish religious persecution from general political repression. That theme comes up particularly in Latin America, and it may be that if you hold a hearing on Latin America that question will be addressed. In Guatemala, in Argentina, in Chile, in virtually all Latin American countries where religious liberty has been infringed, it is in the context of social action by the religious groups. And that has also been a common theme with the repression of Jehovah's Wit nesses. Defining what is religious persecution involves not only defining religion but what is religious activity. Mr. BONKER. We explored that the last time. If religious leaders pursue political activism contrary to the State, that is bound to violate certain civil laws, which will cause the State to react which could be perceived in other countries as persecution. We have had a bishop in Seattle, Wash., who will not pay his taxes because it goes toward contributing to the arms race. In fact, he is violating the law. He may be arrested. Is that religious persecution? A lot of these are age-old church-state questions or issues. I am still convinced that we need some reference to religious persecution as a violation of human rights in our overall description of human rights violations. For people to suffer that repression simply on the basis of their faith is a violation of one of the most sacred of human rights. Mr. JACK. I would like to respond to your question. I think it would be important to take one example such as the Baha'is in Iran. There is increasing literature, there are certainly a number of witnesses available. I would hope, however, that one might take the lead from my testimony and try to be operational. I mean what really can be done? Do we just watch these people, their leaders— at this point it is the leadership getting killed-or is there a way of stepping in, even if it means kind of a boat people situation of several hundred thousand people who might have to be resettled. Mr. BONKER. This is one reason why Mr. Hyde and others are frustrated. It is easier to work your policy, with your friends than with your enemies. If you are providing military assistance to Chile or to Guatemala or to South Korea or the Philippines, and there is widespread violation of human rights, it is much easier to to shake your finger at them in public or resort to private diplomacy. Ultimately you could cut off some form of assistance which is exactly what sections 116 and 502B of the law deal with. But how can you deal with Iran, for instance, when there is no official recognition, no diplomatic ties whatsoever with that country. How can you be effective with Cuba or with North Korea or with Kampuchea if you are providing no assistance and indeed have no political or official ties to those governments. That is why it seems that our human rights policy is not evenhanded, simply because it is easier to punish our friends and allies than it is our enemies. Now with respect to the Baha'is, Dr. Jack, you made some recommendations as to what we could do to help those people. The information before the subcommittee is that the Baha'is don't even want to leave Iran. They don't want to establish a separate identity or entity within Iran. They just want to be free to practice their religion. That compounds the problem because you just can't airlift them out. It is not a matter of trying to immigrate, you know to go to their Holy Land or reenter that Holy Land. So that compound the problems, too. Ms. SHELTON. One thing that might be done in that particular case would be work through whatever diplomatic channels we have to encourage Iran to let the Red Cross return. Until June of last year the Red Cross was permitted into Iran and could supervise a lot of activities there. Since then they have not been permitted to go in. Mr. BONKER. There are other ways. I think simply by holding hearings we focus a lot of attention. Our series of hearings on disappearances certainly had that effect and we had a great deal of coverage. I think it embarrassed the Argentine Government. We can always work through resolutions which when they are passed by the Congress draw some attention. Then, of course, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights that meets annually in Geneva is not without its resources, and that is a fairly representative body. I think when all is said and done governments are still sensitive to world opinion. They would like to take some pride in being good, able, and compassionate leaders. To have negative world attention focused on your own country may be a source of continuing embarrassment. Just by keeping the spotlight on at times we are effective. Mr. JACK. As I said in my statement, there is this new opportunity of a continuing agenda item in the General Assembly. That means that the United States or any member can bring up a religious situation every autumn and it doesn't have to go through the Commission or the Sub-Commission, but can go directly to the General Assembly. I think this is a very interesting new tool that ought to be used next fall. Mr. BONKER. I want to thank both of you for your appearance today and for your testimony. You have helped to increase our knowledge of the subject and I am sure it will all result in something that will be worthwhile. The subcommittee stands adjourned. [Whereupon, at 11:25 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION AS A VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS The Baha'is in Iran TUESDAY, MAY 25, 1982 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN Rights and INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, The subcommittee met at 2 p.m., in room 2200, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Don Bonker (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. BONKER. The Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations will come to order. This subcommittee is charged with overseeing our human rights policy. Over this session of Congress we have started these series of hearings in order to look at the question of religious persecution as a form of human rights violation. This subcommittee has conducted two sets of hearings dealing principally with an overview, the general nature of religious persecution, what constitutes religious persecution, how do we define it, and how can we deal with it as an aspect of violation of human rights. Today, in this hearing we start to focus on specific examples of religious persecution as a violation of human rights. We have chosen the situation of the Baha'is of Iran as our leadoff example. This is perhaps the best example of how this violation occurs in one area of the world. The Baha'is are a religious group that has experienced a century of religious persecution. The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which recognizes and protects the Jewish, Christian, and Zoroastrian minorities in that country, nevertheless denies recognition to Iran's largest religious minority, the Baha'is. As a result, Iran's 300,000 Baha'is are deprived of any form of protection under the law. From the time of its birth in 1844, and at no stage in its history, has the Baha'i faith been granted recognition as an independent religion by the Iranian Government or under the Iranian Constitution. The Baha'is have been considered heretics within Islam since their religion was founded 138 years ago in Iran. The subcommittee will be hearing testimony from a variety of authoritative sources about the history and the extent of the persecution imposed upon the Baha'is. |