SWC Commends Biden Administration for Leading Effort to Expel Iran UN Women’s Rights Commission

November 3, 2022

The Simon Wiesenthal Center commended U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield for spearheading the effort to expel Iran- which is torturing and killing its women -  from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

“The United States is leading a  just and moral effort against the horrific attacks on Iranian women and girls by a murderous theocracy,” said SWC’s Director of United Nations Relations and Strategic Partnerships Eric J. Greenberg. “That is why we must condemn this violent persecution and rank hypocrisy by swiftly removing Iran from the UN commission whose mission is to fight for the human rights of women and girls.“

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Nov. 2, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield stated, “Iran’s membership is an ugly stain on the Commission’s credibility. In our view, it cannot stand.  And that’s why, as Vice President Harris just announced today, we will work with other Member States to remove the Islamic Republic of Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.”

For the past six weeks, thousands of Iranian women and men across have peacefully protested the death of Mahsa Amini, who was beaten by Iranian morality police for allegedly wearing her head scarf improperly.  She died three days later. These protests have gained traction around the world, but in Iran have led to the deaths of hundreds of citizens standing up for women’s rights by Iranian police.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, SWC’s Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action said, “The SWC welcomes US leadership in removing this murderous Iranian regime from UN Commission on Women’s Rights. The Administration should also announce it is ending all negotiations with Iran on Nukes and put all sanctions back in place.”

For further information contact the Center’s Communications department at pressinquiries@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino)