In an unprecedented vote, world powers at the UN headquarters in New York voted on Wednesday in favour of booting Iran from the body given the task of protecting and empowering women.
A total of 29 states voted in favour of the resolution while eight were against, including China, Nigeria, Oman, Russia. Sixteen countries abstained.
The adoption of the resolution, which calls for the removal of Iran with “immediate effect”, marks the first time a member of the Commission on the Status of Women — an organ of the UN’s 54-member Economic and Social Council — has been removed.
Before the vote, Washington’s top envoy to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Iranian women and activists had appealed to the US and the world body for support.
“They made their request to us loud and clear: remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women," she said.
"The reason why is straightforward: the commission is the premier UN body for promoting gender equality and empowering women. It cannot do its important work if it is being undermined from within.”
She described Iran’s membership is an “ugly stain on the commission’s credibility”.
Iran began a four-year term on the commission this year and became a member of the UN Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc) in 2016 by gaining the necessary votes at the UN General Assembly.
The Commission on the Status of Women comprises 45 countries, elected every four years by Ecosoc, based on equitable geographical distribution.
Australia, Albania, Canada, Guatemala, Israel, Liberia, New Zealand, North Macedonia, and UK and Northern Ireland co-sponsored the US draft resolution which calls for the removal of Iran.
Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Jalil Iravani, told Ecosoc members that he was not surprised that the US was taking “such unlawful action against Iran, given its longest standing hostility towards the Iranian people”.
He accused the US of making it a standard practice to “abuse and derail such valued concept as human rights in order to achieve its legitimate political goal".
"And it has achieved so by utilising UN platform and resources," he said.
On Monday, Iran and 18 states including China, Russia, Algeria, Syria and Palestine, sent a letter to Ecosoc urging members to vote against the US draft resolution to avoid “the establishment of a dangerous precedent that could become the new trend for expelling sovereign and rightfully elected states from any given body of the international system”.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan described the vote as "another sign of the growing international consensus on Iran and demands for accountability."
The US-led efforts came as Iran’s hardline regime has faced protests after the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code for women.
The demonstrations, initially sparked by anger over Iran's restrictions on women, are now calling for the downfall of the regime that has ruled the country since 1979.
Two people have already been executed after participating in the protests, with both cases drawing outcry at home and abroad.
Before the 1979 Islamic revolution, many Iranian women wore western-style clothes, but this all changed when the late Ayatollah Khomeini came to power. The regime mandated that women and girls over the age of nine would need to dress modestly and cover their hair in public.
Iranian activist Masih Alinejad, who is the behind the "White Wednesdays" campaign that began 2017, told The National the country should never have been elected to the women's commission.
“For a regime that is anti-woman, it is diabolical that as many as four western countries voted to have Islamic Republic on the CSW," she said.
"First, there is the compulsory hijab issue: women cannot even determine how to dress, and that's just the beginning.
"Women are treated as second-class citizens, discriminated against constantly. Just remember, a woman cannot get a passport or get a job or go to university without the permission of her husband or father.”
Ms Alinejad, who has called on the European Union to recall diplomats from Iran, said removing Iran from the commission sends “a signal to Iranian protesters that the world has heard their protests and is on their side”.
"Today’s justified action by UN member countries" said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, "is a far cry from real accountability for those responsible for the security forces’ lethal violence against protesters after the death of Mahsa Amini, including many women and girls, and the execution of protesters after hasty unfair trials."
"What’s needed is urgent, co-ordinated pressure on Iran to end its campaign of violence, credible prosecutions of individuals who are directly responsible for these appalling violations of human rights, and an end to the severe discrimination against women.”
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
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Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
RESULTS
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: AF Senad, Nathan Crosse (jockey), Kareem Ramadan (trainer)
2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Ashjaan, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.
3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Amirah, Conner Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Jap Al Yaasoob, Szczepan Mazur, Irfan Ellahi.
4pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Cup Prestige Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Jawaal, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri.
4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Manhunter, Ryan Curatolo, Mujeeb Rahman.
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
THE SPECS
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Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Company%20profile
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
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