Anti-Iran Move at Women’s Commission Would Undermine UN System’s Integrity

The United States illegal action to remove Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women would be very dangerous for the integrity of the international body’s system if accomplished, the Iranian permanent representative to the UN said. 
“It might create not only a disastrous precedent with further implications but also defy the letter and spirit of the United Nations Charter,” Saeed Iravani said in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, President of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations Lachezara Stoeva and Chair of the 67th session of the CSW Mathu Joyini, IRNA reported. 
The US is lobbying to terminate Iran’s membership in the women’s commission over what they describe as the Islamic Republic’s violation of women’s rights and crackdown on protesters following the death of a young girl in police custody in September. 
Iran is just starting a four-year term on the commission, which meets annually every March and aims to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Iranian cities have seen protests since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, which later developed into violent clashes between security forces and rioters, claiming the lives of around 200 people, according to Iranian sources. 
Tehran blames the West for being behind the developments, accusing them for provoking violence and orchestrating terrorist actions.
The US permanent representative to the UN has proposed a request in a letter to the President of the Economic and Social Council to discuss the matter at the upcoming meeting scheduled for Dec. 14. 
A draft of the tightly worded resolution to remove Iran from the commission, obtained by Politico, accuses Tehran of “administering policies flagrantly contrary to the human rights of women and girls” including “through the use of lethal force.”
Iravani described the call on the UN body as an “illegal request” which is based solely on “false allegations and fabricated assumptions” made against Iran.
“This illegitimate request indicates yet another attempt by the United States to exploit the UN system to further its political agenda,” he said. 
He also reiterated the Islamic Republic’s warning against politicization and abuse of UN bodies for the advancement of certain political objectives, stressing that it would ultimately damage the credibility of the UN system.
“There is no precedence in the Council’s practice of terminating an elected member’s membership in a functional Commission for any purported reason, nor is it supported by the Council’s rule of procedures,” he noted. 

Unexpected Consequences

The diplomat urged the secretary-general, in his capacity as the UN Charter’s custodian, to protect and preserve its principles. 
“This includes by preventing such unconstructive and destructive attempts orchestrated by the United States, the result of which would not only jeopardize the active and inclusive participation of all member states in the UN activities but also result in other unexpected consequences that I have forewarned of above,” he said. 
He requested that the letter be circulated as a document of the UNESC under Agenda Item 4, elections, nominations, confirmations, and appointments.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani had earlier said any abuse of Iran’s domestic developments for the purpose of imposing political pressure on the country is “condemned and unacceptable.”
“As a UN member state, Iran was admitted to the Commission on the Status of Women in a completely transparent and legal election with the majority vote of member countries,” he said, adding that Iran won 43 out of 54 votes in the poll. 
He added that more than being against the Islamic Republic, the move is against countries’ free vote in international organizations and structures.
This would, in a way, call into question independent states’ right to vote and the value of their opinion, since those countries voted for Iran’s membership in the international body freely and independently, he added. 
“If the US and some other western states manage to remove Iran from the commission as part of their pressure policy, they would in fact have set a [bad] precedent,” he said.