Nigeria, 7 Others Voted Against Expulsion Of Iran from UN Women's Rights Commission
On Wednesday, Nigeria joined seven other countries in voting to keep Iran on the United Nations Women's Rights Commission despite Iran's breaches of women's rights.
The United States called for Iran's overthrow after the country's government used force to quell protests over the inquest into the murder of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who died while in jail.
Twenty-nine countries voted in favour of expelling Iran, eight countries voted against it (including Nigeria, Russia, and China), and sixteen countries did not participate in the vote.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield has previously called Iran's ongoing participation an "ugly stain" on the commission's integrity. She claimed that the United Nations, which is "famous for promoting gender equality and empowering women," is unable to carry out "its crucial mission" if it is "undermined from within."
On Wednesday, the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which consists of 54 member states, backed a resolution to "remove, with immediate effect, the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for the duration of its 2022-2026 term."
Ms Amini was inexplicably killed in detention after being detained by Iran's morality police for allegedly breaching the country's rigorous clothing codes.
The death of Ms Amini prompted widespread condemnation of Tehran from human rights organizations worldwide. When one of their own was killed, Iranian women took to the streets in droves to voice their disapproval.
Despite their government's vote to keep Iran on the panel, notwithstanding Iran's mistreatment of women, some Nigerians have resorted to social media to celebrate Iran's expulsion from the committee.