Countries against removing Iran from UN women panel slam US pressure

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Dec 2022 00:12
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Russia had reportedly made a request for the UN's legal counsel to submit an opinion on Iran's removal, but the request was declined due to pressures by the US and its allies.

Opponents of ousting Iran from UN women panel question US push

Representatives from Russia, China, Syria, Pakistan, and Belarus delivered speeches on Wednesday at a UN session to express their opposition to a US-drafted resolution terminating Iran’s membership in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

According to the report, the representatives had all questioned Washington’s motive in submitting such a proposal. Russia had reportedly made a request for the UN's legal counsel to submit an opinion on Iran's removal.

Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative Gennady Kuzmin proposed that a legal advisor is selected to examine if the US draft resolution was in line with the UN Economic and Social Council's resolution.

But the request was declined due to pressures exerted by the US and its allies.

Kuzmin noted that there is no existing mechanism to revoke a member state from the CSW. This reasoning provided the legal grounds for reviewing the decision to vote in the ECOSOC.

Kuzmin added that Russia is certain that Iranian authorities carried out an inclusive investigation into the death of Mahsa Amini and that every independent state is entitled to use its own mechanisms to ensure that the rule of law is respected - free from foreign interference.

On his part, China's Ambassador to the ECOSOC likewise opposed the resolution to remove Iran from the Women Panel, arguing that it lacks the legal groundings, and slammed the US attempt as a blatant show of double standards and bullying.

As for Syria’s envoy to the ECOSOC, the latter argued that the resolution weakens multilateralism and violates equal rights, as well as countries’ equal participation in international organizations.

The Belarusian ambassador to the ECOSOC said the resolution indicates the failure of the multilateral system and questioned the real motives behind such an anti-Iran resolution.

Pakistan’s envoy to the ECOSOC stressed that human rights issues should always be handled with total impartiality and transparency, far from political agendas.

Mexico’s Ambassador to ECOSOC said it is better to maintain Iran’s membership in the CSW because the situation of women will not change as a result of the termination of the membership.