The U.N. Economic and Social Council voted Wednesday to immediately oust Iran from the U.N.’s premiere global body fighting for gender equality because of its systematic violation of the rights of women and girls.

What You Need To Know

  • The U.N. Economic and Social Council voted Wednesday to immediately oust Iran from its global body fighting for gender equality

  • The U.S.-sponsored resolution was sparked by Iran’s ongoing brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters who took to the streets in September after the death of a 22-year-old woman taken into custody by the morality police

  • The vote to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term was 29-8 with 16 abstentions in the 54-member council

  • Russia opposed the resolution and said before the vote that it wants an opinion from U.N. legal experts on whether the Economic and Social Council was legally able to oust Iran

The U.S.-sponsored resolution was sparked by Iran’s ongoing brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters who took to the streets in September after the death of a 22-year-old woman taken into custody by the morality police.

In a statement, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan hailed the vote as "historic."

"This vote is another sign of the growing international consensus on Iran and demands for accountability," Sullivan wrote. "The United States is working with our allies and partners around the world to hold Iran accountable for the abuses it is committing against its own people, notably peaceful protesters, women and girls, and the violence it is enabling against the Ukrainian people, as well as its destabilizing actions throughout the Middle East region."

The vote to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term was 29-8 with 16 abstentions in the 54-member council.

Russia opposed the resolution and said before the vote that it wants an opinion from U.N. legal experts on whether the Economic and Social Council was legally able to oust Iran.

The resolution expresses “serious concern” over Iran’s actions since September “to continuously undermine and increasingly suppress the human rights of women and girls, including the right to freedom of expression and opinion, often with the use of excessive force, by administering policies flagrantly contrary to the human rights of women and girls and to the mandate of the Commission on the Status of Women, as well as through the use of lethal force resulting in the deaths of peaceful protesters, including women and girls.”

Established in 1946, the Commission on the Status of Women plays a leading role in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives around the world and shaping global standards to empower women and achieve gender equality.

Its 45 members, from all regions of the world, are elected for four-year terms by the UN Economic and Social Council. Iran was elected from the Asian region.