Georgia 2023-2024 Regular Session

Georgia House Bill HR1066 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	LC 46 ~~0877S~~
2		-	The House Committee on Rules offers the following substitute to HR 1066:
	1	+	24 LC 46 0853S
	2	+	The House Committee on Special Rules offers the following substitute to HR 1066:
3	3		A RESOLUTION
4	4		Expressing support for the Iranian people's desire for a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear1
5	5		Republic of Iran and condemning violations of human rights and state sponsored terrorism2
6	6		by the Iranian government; and for other purposes.3
7	7		WHEREAS, beginning in 2017 and continuing for several months after protests erupted in4
8	8		more than 100 cities, the Iranian regime suppressed such protests with repressive forces that5
9	9		resulted in at least 25 deaths and 4,000 arrests, including decorated wrestling champion6
10	10		Navid Afkari, who was later executed in September 2020 amidst international outrage; and7
11	11		WHEREAS, on November 15, 2019, popular protests against the Iranian regime began and8
12	12		spread rapidly to at least 100 cities throughout the country, and reports indicate that Iranian9
13	13		security forces used lethal force; about 1,500 people were killed during less than two weeks10
14	14		of unrest, and thousands more were detained during these protests; and11
15	15		WHEREAS, beginning in September 2022, anti-government protests ignited in response to12
16	16		the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22 year-old Kurdish Iranian woman who was arrested by the13
17	17		morality police that enforce Iran's mandatory dress code laws; and14
18	18		WHEREAS, women and youth have led the 2022 protests in Iran, demanding social freedom15
19	19		and political change; and16
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	20	+	H. R. 1066 (SUB)
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21	22		WHEREAS, these protests are rooted in the more than four decades of organized resistance17
22	23		against the Iranian dictatorship, which most recently have been led by women who have18
23	24		endured torture, sexual and gender based violence, and death; and19
24	25		WHEREAS, in several months of continuing protests in hundreds of cities throughout Iran,20
25	26		the regime's security forces have killed hundreds and arrested tens of thousands of protesters,21
26	27		two of whom, Mohsen Shekari and Majidreza Rahnavard (both 23 years old), were hung on22
27	28		December 8 and 12, 2022, in Tehran and Mashhad, while dozens more have been convicted23
28	29		of "Moharebeh" (waging war on God) and are at risk of execution; and24
29	30		WHEREAS, according to a December 9, 2022, Amnesty International report, "Iran's security25
30	31		forces have killed with absolute impunity more than 40 children and injured many more in26
31	32		a bid to crush the spirit of resistance among the country's youth and retain their iron grip on27
32	33		power at any cost"; and28
33	34		WHEREAS, the similarity in slogans and tactics used by protests nationwide reflect the29
34	35		overarching demands of the Iranian people and point to the organized, unified national nature30
35	36		of the protests; and31
36	37		WHEREAS, in the 118th Congress, the House of Representatives passed House Concurrent32
37	38		Resolution 7, "Condemning the Iranian regime's human rights abuses against the brave33
38	39		women and men of Iran peacefully demonstrating in more than 133 cities"; and34
39	40		WHEREAS, House Concurrent Resolution 7 urges the administration to support the people35
40	41		of Iran and calls on the international community to publicly condemn violence by the Iranian36
41	42		regime against peaceful protestors, to speak out against violations by the regime of37
42	43		fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression, assembly and redress of38
43	44		grievances of the Iranian people; and39
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	45	+	H. R. 1066 (SUB)
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45	47		WHEREAS, on November 24, 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Council established40
46	48		a fact-finding mission to conduct an independent investigation into the ongoing deadly41
47	49		violence related to the protests in Iran that began on September 16, 2022; and42
48	50		WHEREAS, on December 14, 2022, the United Nations Economic and Social Council43
49	51		(ECOSOC) adopted a resolution to expel Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women44
50	52		(CSW) for the remainder of its four-year term ending in 2026; and45
51	53		WHEREAS, the Department of State's 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,46
52	54		released on April 13, 2022, cites that Iran's "government and its agents reportedly committed47
53	55		arbitrary or unlawful killings, most commonly executions for crimes not meeting the48
54	56		international legal standard of 'most serious crimes' or for crimes committed by juvenile49
55	57		offenders, as well as executions after trials without due process"; and50
56	58		WHEREAS, on October 25, 2021, the United Nations Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on the51
57	59		situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran Javaid Rehman told the United52
58	60		Nations General Assembly that almost all executions in the country constituted an arbitrary53
59	61		deprivation of life, noting the "extensive, vague, and arbitrary grounds in Iran for imposing54
60	62		the death sentence, which quickly can turn this punishment into a political tool"; and55
61	63		WHEREAS, the Iranian regime has arbitrarily and brutally suppressed ethnic and religious56
62	64		minorities, including Iranian Kurds, Baluchis, Arabs, Christians, Jews, Baha'is, Zoroastrians,57
63	65		and even Sunni Muslims; deprived them of their basic human rights; and has in many cases58
64	66		executed them; and59
65	67		WHEREAS, the Iranian people have been deprived of their fundamental freedoms, for which60
66	68		reason they are rejecting dictatorship and religious tyranny, as evident in their protest 61
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68	71		slogans, which include, "Down with Khamenei!", "My life for Iran!", "We will fight, we will62
69	72		die, we will reclaim Iran!"; and63
70	73		WHEREAS, senior Iranian government, military, judicial, and security officials have for64
71	74		decades ordered or committed egregious human rights violations and acts of terror; and65
72	75		WHEREAS, during the 2022 protests in Iran, tens of thousands of Americans gathered66
73	76		throughout the United States to call for the end of the Iranian regime and show solidarity67
74	77		with the protestors risking their lives to reclaim their country and establish freedom, human68
75	78		rights, and democracy in Iran; and69
76	79		WHEREAS, according to a November 4, 2023, National Union for Democracy in Iran report,70
77	80		the regime in Iran has taken over 30 dual-national hostages since the beginning of 2018; and71
78	81		WHEREAS, the Islamic Republic's malign activities in the Middle East and around the world72
79	82		pose a threat to United States' national security interests and those of our allies including73
80	83		Israel; and74
81	84		WHEREAS, on November 23, 2022, the Department of the Treasury announced additional75
82	85		action on Iranian security forces, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)76
83	86		forces, for their violent crackdown on anti-government protests throughout Iran; and77
84	87		WHEREAS, on October 28, 2023, a statue devoted to Cyrus the Great, the first king of the78
85	88		Achaemenid Persian Empire, was unveiled at the Millennium Gate in Atlanta, Georgia,79
86	89		commemorating his respect for human rights and signifying the strong ties between the80
87	90		people of Georgia and the people of Iran; and81
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89	93		WHEREAS, in the 115th Congress, the House of Representatives passed House82
90	94		Resolution 4744, which called on the United States to "condemn Iranian human rights abuses83
91	95		against dissidents, including the massacre in 1988 and the suppression of political84
92	96		demonstrations in 1999, 2009, and 2017, and pressure the Government of Iran to provide85
93	97		family members detailed information that they were denied about the final resting places of86
94	98		any missing victims of such abuses"; and87
95	99		WHEREAS, on January 13, 2022, a United Nations report urged "the international88
96	100		community to call for accountability with respect to long-standing emblematic events that89
97	101		have been met with persistent impunity, including the enforced disappearances and summary90
98	102		and arbitrary executions of 1988 and the November 2019 protests"; and91
99	103		WHEREAS, the killings of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 were carried out based92
100	104		on a fatwa to execute all political prisoners who remained loyal to the Iranian Resistance, and93
101	105		subsequent death commissions were formed on July 19, 1988, whose members included the94
102	106		current Iranian regime's President, Ebrahim Raisi; an official from the Ministry of95
103	107		Intelligence; and a state prosecutor, to implement the fatwa; and96
104	108		WHEREAS, the United States should be involved in any establishment of an international97
105	109		investigation into extrajudicial killings of Iranian dissidents; and98
106	110		WHEREAS, senior Iranian government, military, judicial, and security officials have for99
107	111		decades ordered or committed egregious human rights violations and acts of terror; and100
108	112		WHEREAS, on June 30, 2018, tens of thousands of people gathered in Paris at the Free Iran101
109	113		gathering where they supported advocates for a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear102
110	114		Republic of Iran and calls for the universal right to vote, free elections, and a market103
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	115	+	H. R. 1066 (SUB)
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112	117		economy and advocates for gender, religious, and ethnic equality, as well as a foreign policy104
113	118		based on peaceful coexistence and a non-nuclear Iran; and105
114	119		WHEREAS, on July 2, 2018, the Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office announced it had foiled106
115	120		a terrorist plot against the "Free Iran 2018–the Alternative" gathering held on June 30, 2018,107
116	121		in support of the Iranian people's struggle for freedom; and108
117	122		WHEREAS, Assadollah Assadi, a senior Iranian diplomat based in the Iranian embassy in109
118	123		Vienna, Austria, was arrested in Germany and in February 2021 was convicted in Belgium110
119	124		and sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment in connection with the planned terror plot in Paris111
120	125		at the Free Iran gathering; and112
121	126		WHEREAS, Assadollah Assadi served as the third secretary of the Iranian embassy in113
122	127		Austria; and114
123	128		WHEREAS, instead of representing the interests of the Iranian people, the Iranian regime115
124	129		has long used its Foreign Ministry and diplomatic representations abroad to orchestrate terror116
125	130		plots and whitewash gross human rights violations in Iran; and117
126	131		WHEREAS, on December 15, 2022, the Special Court for Combatting Corruption and118
127	132		Organized Crime (SPAK) in Albania sentenced an Iranian national to ten years in prison on119
128	133		terrorism related charges, including attempts to engage in espionage and the assassination120
129	134		of Iranian dissidents in Albania; and121
130	135		WHEREAS, Iran's malign activities in the Balkans pose a serious threat to United States'122
131	136		national security interests; and123
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133	139		WHEREAS, on November 23, 2022, the Department of the Treasury announced additional124
134	140		action on Iranian security forces, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)125
135	141		forces, for their violent crackdown on antigovernment protests in Iran's Kurdistan Province126
136	142		and surrounding areas; and127
137	143		WHEREAS, according to the statement issued by the Department of State on128
138	144		November 23, 2022, "The United States continues to support the Iranian people as they129
139	145		protest nationwide."; and130
140		-	WHEREAS, the ~~House~~ of ~~Representatives~~ recognizes Iran as the number one ~~state sponsor131~~
141		-	of terrorism worldwide and furthermore condemns any actions to allow the ~~Iranian regime132~~
142		-	to facilitate nuclear or other terroristic plots; and133
	146	+	WHEREAS, the General Assembly of Georgia recognizes Iran as the number one state131
	147	+	sponsor of terrorism worldwide and furthermore condemns any actions to allow the Iranian132
	148	+	regime to facilitate nuclear or other terroristic plots; and133
143	149		WHEREAS, Qasem Soleimani was the world's most prolific terrorist, personally culpable134
144	150		for the deaths of over 600 Americans and the maiming of thousands more, including the135
145	151		torture and killing of tens of thousands of people across the Middle East; and136
146	152		WHEREAS, Qasem Soleimani was personally sanctioned by the United Nations and the137
147	153		European Union and was designated a terrorist by the United States of America; and138
148	154		WHEREAS, Qasem Soleimani trained terrorist armies throughout the region, breeding death139
149	155		and chaos in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, as well as in many other140
150	156		nations; and141
151	157		WHEREAS, Qasem Soleimani "was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats142
152	158		and service members in Iraq and throughout the region," according to the United States143
153	159		Department of Defense; and144
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155	162		WHEREAS, the strength and decisive action taken by former President Donald J. Trump in145
156	163		eliminating Qasem Soleimani was a monumental achievement in the War on Terror, sending146
157	164		a clear message that the United States of America will not allow her citizens to be attacked147
158	165		by terrorists without retaliation; and148
159	166		WHEREAS, the Iranian regime recently engaged in a terror plot in Jordan that killed three149
160	167		American soldiers who were from Waycross, Savannah, and Carrollton, Georgia.150
161		-	NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that151
162		-	the members of this body condemn past and present Iranian state sponsored terrorist attacks152
163		-	against United States citizens and officials as well as Iranian dissidents, including the Iranian153
164		-	regime's terror plot against the "Free Iran 2018–the Alternative" gathering in Paris.154
165		-	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of this body call on relevant United States155
166		-	government agencies to work with European allies, including those in the Balkans where Iran156
167		-	has expanded its presence, to hold Iran accountable for breaching diplomatic privileges as157
168		-	well as on nations to prevent the malign activities of the Iranian regime's diplomatic missions158
169		-	with the goal of closing them down and expelling its agents.159
170		-	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of this body stand with the people of Iran160
171		-	who are legitimately defending their rights for freedom against repression as well as161
172		-	condemn the brutal killing of Iranian protestors by the regime.162
173		-	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of this body recognize the rights of the163
174		-	Iranian people and their struggle to establish a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear Republic164
175		-	of Iran.165
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177		-	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized166
178		-	and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the167
179		-	public and the press.168
	168	+	NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF151
	169	+	GEORGIA that the members of this body condemn past and present Iranian state sponsored152
	170	+	terrorist attacks against United States citizens and officials as well as Iranian dissidents,153
	171	+	including the Iranian regime's terror plot against the "Free Iran 2018–the Alternative"154
	172	+	gathering in Paris.155
	173	+	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of this body call on relevant United States156
	174	+	government agencies to work with European allies, including those in the Balkans where Iran157
	175	+	has expanded its presence, to hold Iran accountable for breaching diplomatic privileges as158
	176	+	well as on nations to prevent the malign activities of the Iranian regime's diplomatic missions159
	177	+	with the goal of closing them down and expelling its agents.160
	178	+	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of this body stand with the people of Iran161
	179	+	who are legitimately defending their rights for freedom against repression as well as162
	180	+	condemn the brutal killing of Iranian protestors by the regime.163
	181	+	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of this body recognize the rights of the164
	182	+	Iranian people and their struggle to establish a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear Republic165
	183	+	of Iran.166
	184	+	H. R. 1066 (SUB)
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	186	+	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized167
	187	+	and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the168
	188	+	public and the press.169
	189	+	H. R. 1066 (SUB)
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