By unanimous consent, it was agreed, — WHEREAS, the persistent and pervasive assault on human rights in Iran has continued and intensified despite Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s promise of moderation;
WHEREAS, Iran has executed more people per capita than any country in the world, and which has escalated under President Rouhani;
WHEREAS, Iran continues to criminalize dissent, with at least 895 “political prisoners” and “prisoners of conscience” imprisoned as of January 2014;
WHEREAS, Iranian authorities continue to incite hatred and violence towards ethnic and religious minorities;
WHEREAS, the entire Baha’i leadership remain imprisoned and continue to face widespread and systematic persecution and discrimination;
WHEREAS, this Subcommittee has already found Iran to be engaged in massive domestic repression of human rights, in state-sanctioned incitement to genocide, in the sponsorship of international terrorism, and in the continued development of its nuclear program in violation of UN Security Council resolutions and international law;
WHEREAS, there have been important developments in these four areas that warrant attention and action;
WHEREAS, despite the cynical “charm offensive” of the clerical regime, the Government of Canada successfully led international condemnation of Iran’s abysmal human rights record at the UN General Assembly in December 2013;
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Subcommittee on International Human Rights designate the week of May 12 to 16, 2014, for the third annual Iran Accountability Week, and hold hearings during that week on the four-fold threat posed by the Iranian regime and the role that Canada can play in combatting the four-fold threat.