New York, United States: The United States pushed the removal of Iran from the United Nations’ women’s rights body as the Iranian government continues to repress protests all around the country.
The US-drafted resolution to exclude Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women was approved by the 54-member UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The resolution claims Iran of routinely violating the rights of women.
The vote passed 29-8, with 16 abstentions, and applies to the remainder of the body’s current term, from 2022 through 2026, as per the reports.
“UN Member States just voted to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women. Iranian women and activists called on us to do this – and today, we got it done,” the US ambassador to the UN Ms. Linda Thomas-Greenfield tweeted following the vote.
Iran voiced disappointment with the choice and had already told that it would set an “unwelcome precedent”. Protests have rocked Iran for months following the murder of Ms. Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who passed away in custody in September after being detained by Iran’s “morality police” for wearing her hijab inappropriately.
The Iranian government has responded to the protests with harsh measures and carried out its second execution related to the protests earlier this week, hanging Majidreza Rahnavard for allegedly killing two members of the security forces.
The Iranian football player is at risk of execution for involvement in the protests, although the nation’s judiciary has denied that the professional footballer, Amir Nasr-Azadani, has been sentenced. The UN’s premiere women’s rights group, the 45-member Commission on the Status of Women, was established in 1946 and has annual meetings in March to advance women’s empowerment and gender equality.
The vote was welcomed by US ambassador Thomas-Greenfield, who earlier referred to Iran’s participation as “an ugly stain on the commission’s credibility” Iran’s UN representative, Mr. Amir Saeid Iravani, alleged that the removal was unlawful and accused the US of acting in a bullying manner.
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