IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1371 
Condemning the selection of the Government of Iran to serve on the United 
Nations Commission on the Status of Women. 
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 Coun-
try 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; 
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•HRES 1371 IH 
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 Coun-
try 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 ob-
tain 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 wom-
en’s university admissions in certain fields such as medi-
cine 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 air-
ports through separate entrances; 
Whereas in 2006, women’s rights activists in Iran began the 
One Million Signatures Campaign or the One Million Sig-
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•HRES 1371 IH 
natures 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 pub-
lished reports, Neda Agha-Soltan, a young Iranian 
woman, was shot and killed by a member of a para-
military group affiliated with the Government of Iran; 
Whereas, according to published reports, Taraneh Mousavi, a 
young Iranian woman, was imprisoned without a war-
rant, 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 advance-
ment of women’’; 
Whereas the Commission is responsible for reviewing viola-
tions of women’s rights, reporting details of nations’ fail-
ures in this area, and monitoring progress towards im-
proving the rights of women; 
Whereas, on April 30, 2010, Iran was selected by acclamation 
to serve on the Commission for a four-year term begin-
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•HRES 1371 IH 
ning 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 
Resolved, 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 Na-
tions 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 peo-
ple in their continuing struggle for freedom and 
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•HRES 1371 IH 
human rights, including equal rights for women in 
Iran. 
Æ 
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