Iran ousted from the UN Commission on the Status of Women
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Sulaiman
- . December 15, 2022
- . Update: December 15, 2022 3:43 pm
The Islamic Republic of Iran has been expelled from the UN’s leading women’s rights body in the wake of the country’s “brutal” crackdown on anti-government and anti-hijab protests.
On Wednesday, the 54-member UN Economic and Social Council voted to adopt a resolution, proposed by the United States, calling for the removal of Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
The resolution received 29 votes in favour and 8 against, with 16 abstentions. The US-drafted resolution called for the removal of Iran with immediate effect for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term. The US accused Iran of systematic violations of women’s rights.
The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, wrote on Twitter, “UN Member States just voted to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women.” She also commended Iranian activists.
Read | Iran Protests: 400 people sentenced to up to 10 years in jail
During the voting session, Thomas-Greenfield described Iran’s membership of the body as “an ugly stain on the commission’s credibility.” She also talked about the incident that led to the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in the Islamic Republic. She recalled that Mahsa Amini was arrested on September 13 for allegedly wearing her headscarf (hijab) improperly. Thomas-Greenfield said, “We know she was killed for the crime of being a woman.”
However, Iran condemned the US draft resolution. Iran’s permanent representative to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, described the move as “unlawful” and “the hostile US policy toward Iranians.”
The protests that began shortly after Amini’s death on September 16 have become a popular revolt by Iranians from all sections of society. The demonstrations have become a challenge to the legitimacy of the Iranian regime since it came to power in the 1979 revolution.
Recently, the European Union (EU) also imposed new sanctions on Iran over its crackdown on protesters. EU sanctioned Iranian religious leaders, senior officials and state media employees over human rights abuses.
