Iran's expulsion from UN Women's Commission isolates mullahs internationally

In a new development, and as more pressure from the international community on Iran to modify its behavior at home and abroad, Iran was expelled from the UN Commission on the Status of Women, due to what was described as policies that contradict the rights of women and girls, after a vote proposed by the United States following Tehran's brutal crackdown on the popular protests sparked by the death of a young Kurdish woman who was detained by the morality police in Tehran.

Majority vote

The UN Economic and Social Council, which consists of 54 members, adopted a draft resolution by the United States to “immediately expel the Republic of Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women for the remainder of its continuous membership period from 2022-2026,” as 29 members voted in favor of the resolution, and 8 members opposed it, while 16 abstained from voting.

Opponents of the resolution believe that Iran was elected as a member of the body and that its expulsion from it constitutes a “dangerous precedent,” noting that the member states of the Commission on the Status of Women are chosen by a vote of the UN Economic and Social Council, whose members are elected in the General Assembly.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Economic and Social Council before the vote that excluding Iran was the right thing to do, calling Tehran's membership “an ugly stain on the commission's credibility.” Another US official told Reuters they had “noted growing support” to expel Iran.

Mounting pressure

The implications of the resolution point to increasing pressure from the international community against Iran, as the text of the resolution stated that the Iranian authorities “constantly undermine and increasingly suppress the human rights of women and girls, including the right to freedom of expression and opinion, often with the use of excessive force.”

The decision deepens the extent of the international isolation that Iran has been suffering from recently and is considered an international escalation in response to the escalation pursued by Tehran. The decision also comes as a card to pressure the Iranian regime, especially as it comes in conjunction with the arrival of a delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is an indication that European countries and Washington exploiting the protests in Iran to put pressure on Tehran to make more concessions in the nuclear file.

“This biased American measure against the Islamic Republic of Iran is an attempt to impose unilateral political demands and ignore election procedures in international institutions,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani in a statement, according to IRNA.

Kanaani strongly condemned the “extensive efforts” by the United States to expel Iran from this UN commission concerned exclusively with the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women, of which Iran became a member in April.

Kanaani considered that the “non-unanimous” resolution adopted on Wednesday against Iran at the Economic and Social Council meeting is “a political and legal measure that contradicts the Charter and creates a wrong approach in this international organization.”