The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women voted to take Iran off the committee due to human rights abuses. .The Wednesday vote asked if members supported removing Iran’s membership from the UN Commission on the Status of Women for the remainder of the 2022-2026 term. .Twenty-nine member countries voted in favour of the motion. There were 16 members who abstained, while eight voted against it. .United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan called the vote “historic.” .“This vote is another sign of the growing international consensus on Iran and demands for accountability,” said Sullivan. .“The United States is working with our allies and partners around the world to hold Iran accountable for the abuses it's committing against its own people, notably peaceful protestors, women, and girls, and the violence it is enabling against the Ukrainian people, as well as its destabilizing actions throughout the Middle East region.” .Sullivan said the US issued three sets of sanctions against Iran’s financing of terrorism, protest-related human rights violations, and providing weapons to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. It coordinated with the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia who have issued similar sanctions against Iran. .“The recent horrifying executions in Tehran only strengthen our resolve to expand this growing consensus and pursue all possible mechanisms of accountability against the Iranian regime and its officials responsible for these atrocities,” he said. .The Council of Iranian Canadians and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress demanded in October the Canadian government take action against the Iranian and Russian governments. .READ MORE: Advocacy groups call on Canadian government to punish Iran, Russia.The groups called on Canada to oppose diplomatic engagement with Iran on its nuclear program and discourage any agreement unfreezing its assets. They said Canada should condemn Iran’s presence on the UN Women’s Rights Commission. .The groups said Iranians “deserve the full support of Canada in their fight for a democratic and free Iran.”
