FIRST ON FOX: Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley on Wednesday said that the removal of Iran from the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women was the ‘bare minimum’ that the world body could do, calling it ’embarrassing’ that the regime was even on the panel.
‘Kicking Iran off the U.N. women’s commission is the bare minimum the U.N. can do,’ Haley told Fox News Digital. ‘Iran’s evil regime has murdered hundreds of protesters, including women and children.’
The U.N.’s Economic and Social Council voted on Wednesday to remove Tehran after the U.S. called on the body to remove the Islamic Republic for the rest of its term. Iran was elected via secret ballot last year, along with other countries, including Pakistan, Egypt and China.
The commission, part of the U.N.’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), describes itself as ‘the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.’
The election sparked outrage, which has increased given the brutal crackdown on protests by women’s rights activists after the detention and death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the regime’s morality police for allegedly wearing her head covering incorrectly.
Haley, who had been a top critic of Iran when leading the U.S. at the world body during the Trump administration, said it was a necessary move.
‘It’s embarrassing that they were ever given a seat,’ she said.
Haley had blasted the election of Iran to the body back in March, noting also the regime’s anti-women policies that restrict rights.
‘In Iran, women need their husband’s permission to work, girls can be married off at 13, and domestic violence is not illegal,’ she said. ‘It’s a complete joke and a slap in the face to the millions of Iranian women treated as third-class citizens.’
In remarks after the vote Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Iran’s membership ‘directly undermines the commission’s work.’
‘Its membership was a stain on our credibility,’ she said. ‘Today, we removed that stain.’
Some 16 nations abstained from the vote while eight countries, including China, opposed Iran’s removal from the commission.
Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.