IV 111th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1371 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 19, 2010 Mr. McCotter (for himself, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Campbell, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Inglis, and Mr. Polis of Colorado) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Condemning the selection of the Government of Iran to serve on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

Whereas the Government of Iran’s Islamic civil and penal codes discriminate against women; Whereas according to the Department of State’s 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Iranian women are only nominally granted equal protection under the law . . . in conformity with Islam; Whereas the Iranian penal code dictates a punishment of lashings or a fine if a woman appears in public without an appropriate hijab; Whereas Iranian law permits a man to have as many as four wives; Whereas under Iranian law, an Iranian woman may divorce her husband only if he consents, if he cannot provide for the family, or if he is a drug addict, insane, or impotent; Whereas under Iranian law, a husband may divorce his wife without citing a reason; Whereas under Iranian law, adultery is punishable by death by stoning, and a man who kills his wife after she is caught in adultery may easily escape punishment; Whereas according to the Department of State’s 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, in 2005, 52.7 percent of women in Iran reported experiencing physical violence at some point during their married lives; Whereas under Iranian law, spousal rape is legal; Whereas Iranian victims of rape often neglect to report the crime to the authorities for fear of societal reprisal such as ostracism or punishment for having been raped; Whereas under Iranian law, an Iranian woman must have the permission of her husband, father, or male relative to obtain a passport, and a married woman may not leave the country without permission from her husband; Whereas the Government of Iran uses quotas to limit women's university admissions in certain fields such as medicine and engineering; Whereas the Government of Iran enforces gender segregation and requires women to ride in reserved sections on public buses and enter public buildings, universities, and airports through separate entrances; Whereas in 2006, women’s rights activists in Iran began the One Million Signatures Campaign or the One Million Signatures for the Repeal of Discriminatory Laws (OMSC), also known as Change for Equality; Whereas this campaign aims to collect one million signatures in support of changing Iran’s discriminatory laws against women; Whereas Iranian authorities relentlessly crack down on and intimidate members of this campaign by arresting and imprisoning them; Whereas during the protests following the disputed Iranian political processes of June 12, 2009, according to published reports, Neda Agha-Soltan, a young Iranian woman, was shot and killed by a member of a paramilitary group affiliated with the Government of Iran; Whereas, according to published reports, Taraneh Mousavi, a young Iranian woman, was imprisoned without a warrant, raped, tortured, and burned, with her remains being discarded on the side of the road; Whereas, on November 20, 2009, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution “expressing deep concern” about Iran’s serious, ongoing, and recurring human rights violations; Whereas the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (the Commission) is, according to its Web site, dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women; Whereas the Commission is responsible for reviewing violations of women’s rights, reporting details of nations’ failures in this area, and monitoring progress towards improving the rights of women; Whereas, on April 30, 2010, Iran was selected by acclamation to serve on the Commission for a four-year term beginning at the first meeting of the Commission’s fifty-sixth session in 2011 and expiring at the close of its fifty-ninth session in 2015; Whereas the United States did not issue any public statement on the selection of the Government of Iran to serve on the Commission until May 13, 2010, and still has yet to condemn that action; and Whereas given the Government of Iran’s grave violations of human rights, Iran’s membership in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women poses a serious threat to the integrity and goals of the Commission and undermines the cause of freedom and human rights for the Iranian people: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1)condemns the selection of the Government of Iran to serve on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women; (2)calls on the Administration to denounce the selection of the Government of Iran to serve on the Commission; (3)urges the President to direct the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States at the United Nations to advocate for the removal of the Government of Iran from the Commission; and (4)reaffirms its solidarity with the Iranian people in their continuing struggle for freedom and human rights, including equal rights for women in Iran.