The United Nations (UN) has sent Iran packing from the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) – for now, anyway. The UN is not known for much – except chest pounding, posturing, hand wringing, and pearl clutching. The international organization is like that neighborhood busybody trying to shame folks into behaving themselves and feeling frustrated that it never really works. Somehow, the world’s most persuasive ambassadors awoke from the delusion that all nations are endeavoring to ensure human rights are protected everywhere.
It begs the question: Why was Iran on that particular woman-championing and female-empowering committee in the first place? It doesn’t seem like the right vibe.
What Did They Do to Incur US Wrath?
It was as simple as a drafted resolution by the US to “remove with immediate effect the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term.” It’s as if they could get their equality act together in four years and be welcome at the decision-making table once again. Of 54 member nations, Bolivia, China, Kazakhstan, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Russia, and Zimbabwe voted against it. At the same time, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Mauritius, Mexico, and Thailand couldn’t be bothered to weigh in – at least publicly.
This situation blossomed after a woman was detained by Iran’s morality police (ironic) and died in custody. After that, protests spiked, and Iran found the heat of several nations focused directly on its regime’s practices towards women in general. The death toll is rising: an estimated 475 people have been killed protesting the morality police, and another 18,000 have been detained.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield took a victory lap on the UN’s decision, telling reporters, “The people have taken to the streets and made their voices heard. They are standing for women, for life, and for freedom.” She continued to pick at the situation:
“The United States has long stood for gender equality and basic human rights. We had to act. Iranian women have clearly called for us, here at the United Nations, to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women. It was a sensible request. Iran’s membership directly undermines the Commission’s work. Its membership was a stain on our credibility. Today, we removed that stain.”
But not entirely. Iran is only ousted from the Commission on the Status of Women -- but they remain members of the organization. Is that really the strongest message to send?
Iran is Not Happy
Iran is mortified by the expulsion and let the US know it was most displeased. The nation’s Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani called the move illegal, artfully describing Washington, DC, as a bully. “This illegal conduct might also create a dangerous precedent with far-reaching consequences.”
(Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
And they weren’t the only members with ruffled feathers. The Palestinians, Iran, and 17 other states reached out in a letter to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on Monday. They urged colleagues to vote no to a “new trend for expelling sovereign and rightfully-elected States from any given body of the international system, if ever perceived as inconvenient.”
International Crisis Group UN Director Richard Gowan wrung his hands, claiming, “the US effectively forced other members to get in line by announcing the initiative with very little warning.” In other words, the US is pressuring nations to agree with them, which could represent an unwanted precedent in how business is conducted.
Iran was one of the 51 founding member-states of the United Nations, and credit must be given where it’s due. But the CSW is the principal global intergovernmental body with the sole mission of promoting gender equality and women's empowerment. Unfortunately, the Islamic Republic of Iran doesn’t share any of those tenants.
The Trials and Tribulations of Global Thought-Formation
What do you expect when one nation’s idea of human rights differs significantly from that of yours and your friends? It’s frustrating. In October 1960, Premier Nikita Khrushchev of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics took off his right loafer to make the body assembled listen to him complain about an earlier reference from the Philippines that insulted the USSR. He waved it in the air and then pounded it on his desk for an hour or more. Later he confessed, “It was such fun! The UN is sort of a parliament, you know, where the minority has to make itself known, one way or another. We’re in the minority for the time being, but not for long.” While "fun" may have been a strange way to describe cold war era international diplomacy, The UN was perhaps a more colorful and less controversial body.
