Tehran, IRNA - In a letter to 3 high officials of the United Nations, Iran's Secretary of Human Rights called for the expulsion of the Zionist regime from the Commission on the Status of Women.

In a letter to the secretary general of the United Nations, the President of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kazem Gharibabadi, while referring to the crimes of the Zionist regime in the Gaza Strip, especially against women and girls, called for their efforts to expel the regime from woman's status in the commission.

The text of this letter is as follows:

On the occasion of March 8, International Women's Day, I would like to share an important issue with you and express my concern about the membership of the Zionist regime of Israel in the Women's Status Commission.

As you know, the situation in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic.

The Israeli regime has committed all international criminal crimes such as crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, and ethnic and racial cleansing against the defenseless people of the Gaza Strip.

So far, more than 30,000 people have been martyred and more than 72,000 people have been injured, 70% of whom are women and children.

Hundreds of thousands of residential, medical, educational buildings, places of worship and infrastructures have been completely destroyed or seriously damaged due to the continuous attacks and bombings of the regime.

On the other hand, the principles of international humanitarian law, such as not attacking civilian places, not attacking civilians, and observing the principles of separation and proportionality, have also been completely violated by the Israeli regime.

All types of human rights such as economic, social, cultural, political and civil rights have been seriously violated during the crimes of the last 5 months of this regime.

What is more deplorable and makes the dimensions of these crimes and crisis more severe is the situation of women and girls.

In its January 2024 report, UN Women stated: "Women in Gaza have urgent needs, as well as multiple vulnerabilities.

The crisis in Gaza has worsened conditions, especially for single women, female heads of households, adult girls, women with disabilities and elderly women.

"It has worsened. Access to food and water is very limited and women and girls do not have access to sanitary facilities."

According to UNICEF's February 2024 report, "more than 1,400,000 children, including girls, are in serious need of humanitarian assistance."

Out of one million and seven hundred thousand internally displaced people, eight hundred and fifty thousand of them are children, including girls.

In his report to the Security Council meeting on November 22, 2023, the Executive Director of United Nations Women said: "Women and girls are paying a heavy price in the Gaza crisis. Every one hour, two mothers and every two hours, seven women are killed in Gaza. Every day, 180 women give birth without water and medical and sanitary items. "Women in Gaza have told us that they pray for peace, and if there is no peace, they pray for immediate death while sleeping, with children in their arms."

A group of United Nations human rights experts have also pointed out the painful and bitter realities in their statement on February 19, 2024: "Palestinian women and girls are repeatedly and arbitrarily detained along with their family members and children in the Gaza Strip when they flee or seek refuge are executed, targeted and killed; while some of them had a white cloth in their hands when they were killed by Israeli forces. Detained women in Gaza are kept in cages under the rain and cold and without food."

These experts also expressed their serious concern about the following cases: "Sexual assault on Palestinian women and girls, the disappearance of a number of Palestinian women and children, the separation of Palestinian children from their parents and their transfer to Israel."

The above cases are only a few examples of the crimes committed by the Zionist regime of Israel against women and girls in the Gaza Strip.

This regime with such a dark history is unfortunately a member of the Women's Status Commission, a commission that was formed against the stated goal of establishing gender equality and empowering women, and one of its important tasks is to accelerate the fulfillment of women's needs around the world.

In such a situation, the continued membership of the Israeli regime is a mockery of the principles of human rights and international humanitarian law, as well as contempt for the Commission on the Status of Women and its principles, goals and missions.

Your Excellencies are expected to use all your best efforts and ensure that this criminal regime, child killer and killer of women and girls, is held accountable for its crimes and expelled from this commission.

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