The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday that supports protests in Iran and condemns human rights abuses there. The measure also urges targeted sanctions against officials who violate human rights.
In a speech, bill sponsor Ed Royce said the protests are “legitimate” and aimed at “an oppressive, corrupt regime.” He said the resolution calls on all democratic governments and institutions worldwide to support the Iranian people’s right to live in a free society.
Royce is the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and he said it is a “moral imperative” to support people who “risk their lives demanding the freedoms that people in free societies enjoy every day.” Royce said Iran’s “oppressors” steal the wealth of a “great nation to enrich themselves and to fund violence abroad.”
Royce said it is “amazing” that Iran’s people now enjoy “far fewer rights than their forefathers.” He said ancient Persian King Cyrus the Great drafted the first declaration of human rights thousands of years ago. According to Royce, these ideas included tolerance of religious and ethnic minorities, a sharp contrast to the discrimination against such groups in Iran today.
Royce says Cyrus’ ideals influenced many subsequent cultures, including the European Enlightment and the Founding Fathers of the United States.
Royce is a Republican from California who has served 13 two-year terms in Congress. He recently announced that he will not run for re-election.
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