UN removes Iran from women commission over ‘rights abuse’

The United Nations member states have voted in favour of removing Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

Protests have gripped Iran after Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman from the north-western city of Saqez, died in police custody after being arrested by the morality police on September 13 for not wearing a proper hijab.

The United States had proposed Iran’s removal from the UN body following the country’s crackdown on the protests.

The development comes days after Iran announced its first public execution of a person convicted for an alleged crime linked to the protests.

The man executed was identified by the Iranian judiciary as Mohsen Shekari and accused of “waging war against God.”

After Shekari’s conviction, Masoud Setayeshi, the judiciary spokesman, had said anyone who uses a “cold or warm weapon with the intent of harming the life, possessions or family of people or to terrorise them” could be convicted of moharebeh — or “waging war against God” — which carries the death penalty.

On Monday, a 23-year-old identified as Majidreza Rahnavard, was said to have been hanged from a construction crane in the city of Mashhad.

According to Iran’s judiciary’s news website, Rahnavard was convicted of killing two members of the country’s Basij paramilitary force on November 17.

On Tuesday there were reports that Amir Nasr-Azadani, a professional footballer in the country, would face execution after campaigning for women’s rights and basic freedom.

According to Reuters, on Wednesday, the 54-member UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) adopted the 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”.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the UN, applauded the move and described Iran’s membership as an “ugly stain on the commission’s credibility”.

However, in a letter to ECOSOC on Monday, Iran said its removal from the body “will undoubtedly create an unwelcome precedent that will ultimately prevent other member states with different cultures, customs and traditions… from contributing to the activities of such commissions.”

In November, the UN voted to carry out an independent investigation into Iran’s crackdown on protests.