Enlarge image
Women, Life, Freedom: Banners at a solidarity rally in Washington
Photo:
STEFANI REYNOLDS / AFP
In response to the brutal repression of the protests in Iran, the US wants to kick the country out of the UN Women's Rights Commission.
According to the dpa news agency, US Vice President Kamala Harris said the US would like to work with its partners to remove Iran from the committee.
"The United States believes that no nation that systematically disregards the rights of women and girls should have a role in any international or United Nations body charged with protecting those same rights," Harris said.
Iran has "proved by its denial of women's rights and its brutal actions against its own population that it is unsuitable for working on this commission".
Iran's presence alone discredits the integrity and work of the body.
Meanwhile, members of the UN Security Council discussed the situation in Iran on Wednesday in New York at the initiative of the United States.
The American ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, promised the women in Iran her full support.
However, the path will not be easy: "Change will not come overnight." But the current situation in Iran is important for women worldwide: "Women are counting on us to do the right thing."
The trigger for the system-critical mass protests in Iran was the death of the 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini.
The vice squad arrested her for allegedly violating Islamic dress codes.
The woman died in police custody in mid-September.
Tens of thousands of people have been demonstrating against the Islamic Republic's repressive policies and authoritarian course for more than six weeks.
According to human rights activists, more than 280 people were killed and more than 14,000 arrested.
sak/dpa