Iran sharply criticized the US a day after it was voted out from a UN commission on women's rights for its suppression of demonstrations since the death of Mahsa Amini in September.
The death of Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, in the custody of Iran's notorious morality police had triggered a massive wave of protests.
The vote to expel Iran from the commission, proposed by the US, passed with a 29-8 vote and 16 abstentions.
The 45 members of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) are elected by the Economic and Social Council for four-year terms. Wednesday’s vote removed Iran for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Thursday said that Iran’s removal from the panel is driven by bias and is an attempt “to impose unilateral political demands, and ignore election procedures in international institutions,” according to the official IRNA agency in Tehran.
Kanaani strongly condemned the US’ extensive campaign to expel Iran from the UNCSW, which is concerned exclusively with the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Iran became a member of the commission last April.
Kanaani said that the “US-led non-consensus resolution,” violated the UN charter and set a dangerous precedent for the international organization.
While Russia and China, Iran’s allies, opposed the vote, a simple majority was sufficient to adopt the resolution proposed by the US.
Tehran accused Washington of “exerting pressure” on countries before the vote.
The voted resolution states that the Iranian authorities constantly undermine and increasingly suppress human rights of women and girls. This includes the right to freedom of expression.
Iran often undermines human rights of women with the use of excessive force.
The head of Iran's high council for human rights, Kazem Gharibabadi, said the motive of the US for supporting the resolution was to protect its own interests.
The US “only pursues its inhumane and anti-human rights interests and goals” by issuing “false and hypocritical statements and comments” against Iran, he said in a Twitter post.
