BRIEF ON IRAN No. 313 Thursday, December 14, 1995 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran 3421 M Street NW, #1032 Washington, DC 20007 Tel: (202) 783-5200 U.N. Human Rights Committee Condemns Tehran, Voice of America, December 13 A committee of the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday criticized Iran's human rights record by a vote of 74 To 26.... The resolution goes next week to the full General Assembly, where approval is virtually guaranteed.... The resolution covers a broad range of human rights abuses -- from the high number of executions in Iran, torture of prisoners and the complete absence of due process of law to the persecution of religious minorities and restrictions on basic freedoms of expression. The U.N. committee also expressed grave concern about continuing death threats against writer Salman Rushdie, who was termed a blasphemer of Islam by Iran's leading cleric in the 1980's. Mr. Rushdie resided in Britain at the time. The resolution notes these threats appear to have the support of the present Iranian Government. The resolution further urges Iran to allow the special U.N. human rights investigator to visit the country as soon as possible and without conditions.... The resolution was sponsored mainly by the United States and European countries. The full General Assembly virtually rubber-stamps committee resolutions. No further debate is anticipated.... Rajavi: 36th Resolution Condemning Mullahs Necessitates Security Council's Addressing of Clerics' Record on Human Rights And Terrorism, from a statement by NCR, December 13 ...Mr. Massoud Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance, stressed: This resolution is the 36th such document adopted by different United Nations bodies during the past 14 years, condemning Khomeini's medieval regime for severely abusing the rights of the Iranian people and exporting terrorism. It is yet another irrefutable evidence of the irreformability of the mullahs ruling Iran.... ...Mr. Rajavi said: ...the time has come for the General Assembly to refer the appalling record of the mullahs on human rights and terrorism to the U.N. Security Council to consider adopting practical and concrete punishments against this regime. Due to such a dark record, Khomeini's heirs are absolutely devoid of any legitimacy among the people of Iran and in no way do they represent them, Mr. Rajavi noted. The clerical regime, therefore, must be expelled from the United Nations and Iran's seat at the U.N. be transferred to the National Council of Resistance, the Iranian Resistance's 560- member Parliament which encompasses all Iranian political, social, cultural, ethnic and religious sectors and tendencies, the NCR President concluded. White House, Hill Agree on New Iran Sanctions, Washington Post, Dec. 13 ...Under the bill introduced yesterday by [Senate Banking] Committee Chairman Alfonse M. D'Amato (R-N.Y.) and approved by a strong bipartisan vote, any foreign corporation or bank investing $40 million or more in Iran's oil and gas industry would be subject to U.S. economic sanctions. President Clinton already has prohibited U.S. firms from doing business with Iran. Members of both parties predicted swift enactment of the bill aimed at discouraging investment in Iran's principal industry, and prompt signature by Clinton.... European nations in particular have objected to any atempt to force them to adopt Washington's policy of total isolation of Iran... But Clinton told Europeans at a meeting in Madrid Dec. 3 that this country has run out of patience with the more tolerant approach, which seeks to moderate Iran's behavior through normal commercial and diplomatic contacts. Clinton challenged senior European officials at that meeting to cite one example of success, one instance in which they had induced Iran to show restraint, and they were unable to do so, according to sources who were present.