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New York, NY, December 7, 2020 … ADL’s (the Anti-Defamation League) Task Force on Middle East Minorities today welcomed the bipartisan passage of two important House Resolutions that the Task Force had endorsed earlier this year as part of its work supporting the rights of vulnerable groups. The Task Force consists of scholars, experts, and activists who serve as an advisory body to augment ADL’s work in protecting vulnerable minorities by identifying, elevating, and educating on emerging human rights issues in the Middle East.
The first resolution, H. Res. 512, which raises concern about the harm caused by blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws, including against minority groups, and urges the U.S. government to make the international repeal of these laws a human rights priority.
The second resolution, H. Res. 823, condemns the Government of Iran’s state-sponsored persecution of its Baha’i minority and the regime’s continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights. This bipartisan resolution also calls on the Executive Branch to impose sanctions on those Iranian officials who are directly responsible for serious human rights abuses against the Baha’i community.
The Task Force encouraged the Senate to pass the companion measures for each of these important human rights resolutions, and called on the Executive Branch to continue supporting the human rights of all vulnerable groups in the Middle East and beyond.