AA/Washington/Michael Hernandez
The White House on Wednesday welcomed the “historic” vote to withdraw Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women, calling it “a new sign of growing international consensus on Iran and accountability requirements.”
“The United States is working with allies and partners around the world to hold Iran accountable for the abuses it perpetrates against its own people, including peaceful protesters, women and girls, and for the violence it perpetrates against the Ukrainian people,” White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
“The recent horrific executions in Tehran only strengthen our determination to expand this growing consensus and pursue all possible mechanisms of accountability against the Iranian regime and its officials responsible for these atrocities,” added Sullivan.
The White House adviser also said Washington “welcomes the historic vote to remove Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.”
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) approved a draft resolution, drafted by the United States, calling for Iran’s “withdrawal with immediate effect from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for the period 2022 – 2026”.
The resolution was adopted by 29 votes to 8, including those of Russia and China, while 16 other member states abstained in the 54-member Council.
The 45-member United Nations Commission on the Status of Women works to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.
“The resolution responds to the call of Iranian women and civil society,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations, told reporters.
In his press statements, Louis Charbonneau, director of UN advocacy at Human Rights Watch, stressed that “Iran’s withdrawal from the UN Commission on the Status of Women is a step towards holding Iranian leaders accountable for their long history of discrimination and cruelty against women and girls”.
“What is needed is urgent and coordinated pressure on Iran to end its campaign of violence. We also demand credible trials of those directly responsible for these horrific human rights abuses, as well as an end to discrimination against women,” Charbonneau added. .
Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani, called the expulsion an “illegal step”, accusing the United States of “trying to use the United Nations to advance its political agenda”.
Iran carried out two executions amid protests rocking the country, which have been widely condemned by the international community and human rights experts.
Iran has been rocked by a wave of protests after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.
The young woman died on September 16 in anomalous circumstances, after being arrested by the Tehran deputy team for allegedly violating the Iranian dress code.
Iranian authorities have tried to argue that Amini’s death was due to a heart attack that occurred while in custody, but this explanation has not been convincing, with protesters and her family saying she was beaten to death.
* Translated from the Arabic by Mounir Bennour.
Only a part of the dispatches, which the Anadolu Agency transmits to its subscribers via the Internal Broadcasting System (HAS), is broadcast on the AA website, in a synthetic way. Contact us to sign up.
