Islamic Republic Ousted From UN Commision On Women
The Islamic Republic was voted out from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for policies contrary to the rights of women and girls.
The Islamic Republic was voted out from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for policies contrary to the rights of women and girls.
On Wednesday, members of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) adopted a US-drafted resolution to "remove with immediate effect the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term" over the regime’s bloody crackdown on protests ignited by the death of a young woman in custody of hijab – or the so-called “morality” -- police.
“This vote is another sign of the growing international consensus on Iran and demands for accountability,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said after the vote.
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Out of the 54-member body, 29 members voted in favor of the resolution while eight voted against and 16 countries abstained. The Islamic Republic itself, Palestine, Syria, Cuba, China, Russia, Eritrea, Belarus, Zimbabwe, and North Korea voted to keep Iran in the body.
The vote was the first time in United Nations history that a country was expelled from the commission.
It was the second step against the Islamic Republic’s violations of human rights during the current wave of protests. The first step by the United Nations to hold the Islamic Republic accountable for its crackdown on protesters was creating a fact-finding mission by the Human Rights Council. The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council voted on November 24 to launch an independent investigation into the regime’s deadly repression of protests that has killed around 500 civilians, including about 60 children.
British Foreign Minister James Cleverly said during a session at the parliament on Tuesday that the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), in partnership with the Home Office, had ensured that the Iranian journalists were protected by the British police.
“The UK remains absolutely determined to ensure that Iran does not intimidate people within this country. We will always stand up to the aggression from foreign nations,” he noted, adding, “We will absolutely not tolerate threats, particularly towards journalists who are highlighting what is going on in Iran, or indeed any other individual living in the UK.”
One day later, Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib in a television interview repeated threats to “punish all those” who had a role in popular protests against the regime, wherever they might be.
Khatib on November 9 had said the Islamic Republic regards Iran International as “a terrorist organization,” adding that its workers and anyone affiliated with the channel will be pursued by the Ministry of Intelligence all over the globe.
In November, Volant Media, the parent company of Iran International, said that two of its journalists had been notified of direct threats. It said in a statement the Metropolitan Police had formally notified both journalists that these threats represent an imminent, credible and significant risk to their lives and those of their families. Ken McCallum — the head of MI5, the UK’s domestic counter-intelligence and security agency -- said on November 16 that UK authorities have discovered at least 10 “potential threats” since January to “kidnap or even kill British or UK-based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime.”
Expressing the UK’s commitment to hold the Islamic Republic to account, Cleverly said, “These protests in Iran are a watershed moment. After years of repression, the Iranian people have clearly had enough. They are standing up to the authoritarian regime under which they live. Sadly, the regime has responded in the only way it knows: with violence.”
He went on to say the UK has imposed more than 300 sanctions -- including sanctioning the Islamic Revolutionary Guard in its entirety, adding “We will continue to work with partners to challenge the regime’s aggression at home and its disruptive behavior in the region.”
Declining to disclose plans to hit the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) with further punitive measures after Iran International staff were given armed police protection, he said that it was “counterproductive to detail what future sanctions and designations might be brought in to ensure that the targets of those sanctions do not in any way try to evade the sanctions before they’re brought in”.
Also on Tuesday, UK security minister Tom Tugendhat said that Britain is facing growing interference, threats and influence from state actors including Iran, warning the “emerging era of state-based threats” poses “a challenge to our future and to our society” as well as to freedom of speech in the UK and residents' way of life. “They are threats not just to life — they are threats to our way of life,” he said at London-based think tank Policy Exchange.
The security minister said the Islamic regime’s crackdown on anyone it perceives as a threat to its authority had extended to Britain, noting that “Iran's malign behavior in the Middle East directly threatens our partners and our interests.”
“They are brutally suppressing courageous people in the streets who are calling for an end to the control of a corrupt and corrupted religious security elite claiming authority from God. All of this is clear, much of it has been clear for some time. What’s new is that we’re seeing this grow at home,” he said.
“Since Ken McCallum’s speech just a few weeks ago we’ve seen even more out of Iran,” Tugendhat said. “This is not and has not yet finished.”
Faced with nationwide antigovernment protests since mid-September, the Islamic Republic has blamed foreign-based Persian broadcasters such as BBC Persian and Iran International of “fomenting unrest”, while all media in the country are under tight government control and present protesters as “rioters” and “terrorists”.
Lawmaker Shahryar Haydari said in an interview that "the country cannot be controlled with military confrontations with protesters."
He added that the committee is reviewing the government's approach to offer its suggestions for a way out of the current crisis. However, he added that it is up to the Iranian Judiciary to decide who should be pardoned and who should be punished.
Haydari said the Judiciary should pardon all those who simply protested in the streets and did not engage in violence. Referring to the execution of two protesters in less than one week, the lawmaker suggested that the government should not follow policies that increase tensions in society.
He further claimed that there have been fewer protests in recent days, but the government should not think protesters have given up their demands. The government should listen to them and President Ebrahim Raisi should be personally accountable for all the problems in the country.
However, a hardliner lawmaker Mostafa Mirsalim said Wednesday that the Judiciary should execute protesters quickly - within ten days after their arrest.
Haydari, stressing that military confrontation with the protests cannot solve the country's problems, called for economic solutions for the people's financial problems.
But that is one goal Raisi cannot accomplish by himself without a major change in foreign and domestic policies, a herculean task hinging on support by the authoritarian ruler Ali Khamenei.
Meanwhile, reformist sociologist and political activist Hamid Reza Jalaeipour said in an interview with Etemad Online that "Protests have still not entered a revolutionary phase, but they will, if the situation becomes increasingly critical. He added that the execution of a young protester, Mohsen Shekari on December 8 has deeply moved and agitated even those Iranians who were not actively taking part in the protests.
Jalaeipour said that most of those protesting in the streets are women and young Iranians including students. Nonetheless, he added, around 70 percent of Iranians are still silent and have not aligned with the opposition although they are not happy with the government's performance.
He pointed out that what is happening in Iran is not a riot. "Riots end soon but this movement is continuing. It has so many artistic and cultural manifestations and it has attracted worldwide support," Jalaipour said, and added that the government should allow these demands to be voiced. But unfortunately, the more politically active the society becomes, the less openness the government shows.
"During the past 90 days while this movement has been going on, the government has not tried to convince the people that it cares for their views. If this approach continues…a revolutionary phase might start," he said, adding that "The government has managed to control the situation during the past three months, but it cost hundreds of lives."
Jalaeipour added that some of the five million elders in the country are looking for conservative solutions. But this country has about 20 million youths and some 38 million others in between the two groups. The ideologically minded elders control the government regardless of what the other 58 million want. If they feel really fed up, they might end their silence.
Meanwhile, reformist politician Mehdi Ayati told Rouydad24 that if the government uses more violence against protesters, street unrest might go underground. He stressed: "Violence is not the right answer to [protests.]"
Although it might be too late, people will be happy when the government takes their demands and views seriously. But it has ignored the public’s demands and views for a long time. It should have attended to the needs of young people and women earlier.
Ayati, a former lawmaker, said that if the government wants to make up for its shortcomings, the first step is to avoid violence. He warned that violence will boost dissent to an uncontrollable level.
