US Congress Introduces Resolution Condemning State-Sponsored Persecution of Iran's Bahai's

Capitol Hill in Washington (File/AFP)
Capitol Hill in Washington (File/AFP)
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US Congress Introduces Resolution Condemning State-Sponsored Persecution of Iran's Bahai's

Capitol Hill in Washington (File/AFP)
Capitol Hill in Washington (File/AFP)

The US House of Representatives is preparing to vote on a draft resolution condemning the state-sponsored persecution of the Baha'i community of Iran in a bipartisan move.

Voices are mounting in Congress criticizing these violations against the Baha'i community.

The Iranian regime and its affiliated militias, like the Houthis in Yemen, are accused of persecuting the Baha'is.

The draft resolution, introduced by Rep. Ted Deutch, condemns the longstanding state-sponsored persecution of the Iranian Baha'i religious minority and calls on the Iranian government to release the imprisoned Baha'is immediately.

Furthermore, the resolution calls on the US President and the Secretary of State to immediately condemn Iran's continued violation of human rights and calls for sanctions on officials for human rights abuses against the Baha'i community.

The bipartisan resolution also calls on the Iranian government to end its hate propaganda campaign against the Baha'is and reverse state-imposed policies denying Baha'is and members of other religious minorities equal opportunities to higher education, earning a livelihood, due process under the law, and the free exercise of religious practices.

Deutch, who is also the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and International Terrorism, said that the Iranian regime has an "egregious record of human rights violations against its people, including denying freedom of religion and persecuting minorities like the Baha'i."

The resolution was met with solid support from the US Baha'i community.

Director of the US Baha'i Office of Public Affairs Anthony Vance said that Baha'is in Iran are denied essential opportunities such as education and economic advancement on the grounds of their belief.

"We support the resolution and thank Congress for their efforts in defending the rights of our co-religionists abroad."

Vince noted that this is not the first time bills of this kind have been introduced in Congress, and an overwhelming majority usually passes them.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that the Yemeni Houthi militant group is an "entity of particular concern" for violating religious freedoms.

The State Department also included Iran as a "country of particular concern" for having engaged or tolerated violations of religious freedom.

Washington accuses Iran of "exporting anti-Bahaiism to Yemen" and prompting the Houthis to commit violations against the Baha'i minority there.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemned Houthis for summoning 19 Yemen's Baha'is to stand trial on spurious charges and risk lengthy prison sentences.

"We unequivocally condemn the Houthis' latest targeting of Yemen's Baha'i community," said USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin.

Manchin warned that this reckless endangerment of people's lives flagrantly violates freedom of religion or belief.

"The US government must make clear to the Houthis and their supporters that it will not tolerate the systematic oppression of religious minorities."



Aid Group: More than 10,000 Migrants Died this Year Trying to Reach Spain by Sea

FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
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Aid Group: More than 10,000 Migrants Died this Year Trying to Reach Spain by Sea

FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)

More than 10,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain by sea this year, a report released by a Spanish migration rights group said on Thursday.
On average, that means 30 migrants died every day this year attempting to reach the country by boat, Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) said. Overall deaths rose 58% compared to last year, the report added, according to The Associated Press.
Tens of thousands of migrants left West Africa in 2024 for the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago close to the African coast that has increasingly been used as a stepping stone to continental Europe.
Caminando Fronteras said most of the 10,457 deaths recorded up until Dec. 15. took place along that crossing, the so-called Atlantic route — considered one of the world's most dangerous.
The organization compiles its figures from families of migrants and official statistics of those rescued. It included 1,538 children and 421 women among the dead. April and May were the deadliest months, the report said.
Caminando Fronteras also noted a “sharp increase” in 2024 in boats leaving from Mauritania, which it said became the main departure point on the route to the Canary Islands.
In February, Spain pledged 210 million euros (around $218 million) in aid to Mauritania to help it crack down on human smugglers and prevent boats from taking off.
Spain’s interior ministry says more than 57, 700 migrants reached Spain by boat until Dec. 15 this year, a roughly 12% increase from the same period last year. The vast majority of them came through the Atlantic route.