Iran, Saudi Arabia Seats on UN Women's Board Would Be a `Joke,' Ebadi Says
By Bill Varner 
November 9, 2010 
Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-09/iran-saudi-arabia-seats-on-un-women-s-board-would-be-a-joke-ebadi-says.html
Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner – HYPERLINK http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Shirin%20Ebadi&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1&partialfields=-wnnis:NOAVSYND&lr=-lang_ja \o Search News Shirin Ebadi said the possible election tomorrow of Iran and Saudi Arabia to the board of a new http://un.org \o Open Web Site United Nations body to promote women’s rights would be a “joke.” 
Iran is one of 12 countries that are vying for 10 seats designated for Asian nations on the board of the agency, called UN Women. Saudi Arabia and five other nations, including the U.S., have declared their candidacy for six seats set aside for leading contributors to the agency. 
“The membership of countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia on this board is like a joke,” Ebadi told reporters in New York. “This is a mocking situation for the board from the commencement of its work. This board with the members we can see will not get anywhere.” 
The UN General Assembly voted in July to create the agency by merging existing bodies. It will be formally established on Jan. 1 with former Chilean President – HYPERLINK http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Michelle%20Bachelet&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1&partialfields=-wnnis:NOAVSYND&lr=-lang_ja \o Search News Michelle Bachelet at the head of a 41-member board. 
Ebadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her efforts to promote human rights in her home country, said the situation in Iran is “deteriorating daily.” 
Regarding the rights of women, she cited Iranian laws that make it more difficult for a woman to obtain a divorce or a passport, and that equate the court testimony of one man to that of two women. 
Women’s Rights 
“A country with this kind of record and laws against women, how can they speak about the rights of women in other countries in the world?” Ebadi said. “Regarding Saudi Arabia, the situation of women’s rights in that country is even worse.” 
Rights groups including London-based http://www.amnesty.org \o Open Web Site Amnesty International and New York-based http://www.hrw.org/ \o Open Web Site Human Rights Watch have criticized the candidacies of Iran and Saudi Arabia. Women aren’t allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia and are barred from many public facilities used by men. 
The decision by an Iranian court to sentence a woman, Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, to death by stoning after her 2006 conviction on charges of adultery and murder also has drawn widespread criticism. 
The U.S. mission to the UN also has said it opposes Iran’s candidacy. 
“The U.S. is opposed to Iran serving on the board of UN Women because we believe it would send the wrong signal at the beginning of this exciting initiative,” – HYPERLINK http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Mark%20Kornblau&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1&partialfields=-wnnis:NOAVSYND&lr=-lang_ja \o Search News Mark Kornblau, spokesman for the U.S. mission, said. “The situation for women in Iran appears to have significantly deteriorated in recent years.” 
Iran’s mission to the UN and Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Washington didn’t respond to requests to comment on Ebadi’s statements.