India abstains on UN Economic and Social Council resolution to oust Iran from commission on status of women

United Nations, December 15

India has abstained in the UN Economic and Social Council on a draft resolution to oust Iran from the principal global intergovernmental body dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and women empowerment.

The Economic and Social Council adopted on Wednesday the draft resolution, introduced by the US, on the removal of Iran from the membership of the Commission on the Status of Women for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term, citing its oppression of women and girls in the Islamic Republic.

The resolution was adopted by a recorded vote of 29 in favour to eight against – Bolivia, China, Kazakhstan, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Russia, Zimbabwe – and 16 abstentions, including by Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Mauritius, Mexico and Thailand.

Through the draft ‘Removal of the Islamic Republic of Iran from membership in the Commission on the Status of Women for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term’, the Economic and Social Council expressed serious concern over the actions of the Government of Iran since September 2022.

It said Iran continuously undermined and increasingly suppressed 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 protestors, including women and girls.”