OTTAWA, October 31 - In a consensus decision by all political parties, the Canadian parliament today became the first legislature in the world to demand the removal of the Islamic Republic of Iran from the UN’s top women’s rights body. See text of motion below.
Today’s motion, introduced by Conservative Party Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman, was adopted by Canada’s legislature following a similar call made today by New Zealand’s prime minister, and yesterday by Canada’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister.
The motion was welcomed internationally by human rights activists, including Hillel Neuer, executive director of the independent non-governmental organization UN Watch, based in Geneva, who first exposed Iran’s election to the UN Commission on the Status of Women in April 2021.
“Every day, we see more and more how little Iran respects women’s rights and human rights, and so we commend political leaders and lawmakers in Canada and New Zealand for taking action to remove this moral obscenity, which is casting a shadow upon the reputation of the United Nations as a whole,” said Neuer.
“Not only is it the height of hypocrisy for the Islamic regime of Iran to hold a position of leadership on women’s rights - it is dangerous. The mullahs are using their membership on the UN’s top women’s rights committee as a platform for propaganda to suggest the Tehran regime has a legitimate concern for women’s rights. They do not.”
“It’s time to put an end to enabling murderous dictatorships like Iran to spread disinformation to justify their gross abuses against women and girls, and against the population at large.”
Motion introduced in the Parliament of Canada by MP Melissa Lantsman, the Honorable Member for Thornhill:
I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That given the brutal death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the IRGC, the subsequent crackdown in Iran on women’s rights, civil liberties and fundamental freedoms, and a long history of grave human rights abuses and violence against women perpetuated by the Iranian state, this House declares its support for the removal of Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.”
