Washington, DC – Jamal Abdi, President of the National Iranian American Council, issued the following statement applauding the successful effort to remove Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women as a direct response to the brutal crackdown on the women-led movement in Iran:
“Congratulations to the Iranian voices that organized for this unprecedented victory and the advocates and officials who helped make it possible. This is a monumental, tangible achievement to punish the Islamic Republic for its mass abuses of women. It is an important realization of calls that came from inside Iran and, unlike some other forms of pressure, does not hurt ordinary Iranians.
We commend the Biden administration for undertaking this initiative, which follows earlier successful efforts to expand licensing for internet freedom and to support the establishment of a new UN fact finding mission to document the rights abuses on the ground. We hope that today’s important international, multilateral action will be coupled with continued efforts to ensure U.S. policies support the Iranian people.
The abuses of the Islamic Republic are only mounting, and there are additional steps the Administration can take to support Iranians — like enabling family remittances, increasing and speeding up visa processing, and building on initiatives like internet communications licensing to ensure sanctions do not interfere with Iranians’ ability to demand freedom.”