The United Nations expelled Iran from its women's body over Tehran's rights violations amid its crackdown on ongoing anti-government protests.

The U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) voted on a U.S.-drafted resolution to "remove with immediate effect" Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for the remainder of its 2022 - 2026 term.

Twenty-nine-member states voted in favor of the resolution. Eight voted against it, including Russia and China. Sixteen abstained in the 54-member ECOSOC.

The 45-member U.N. Commission on the Status of Women is dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the resolution answers appeals from Iranian women and civil society.

Iran’s Ambassador Amir Saeed Iravani called the expulsion an "illegal move" and accused the U.S. of "trying to use the U.N. to advance its political agenda."

"The removal of Iran from the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women is a welcome step toward holding the Iranian leadership accountable for its long history of discrimination and cruelty towards women and girls," said Louis Charbonneau, U.N. director for Human Rights Watch.

"What’s needed is urgent coordinated pressure on Iran to end its campaign of violence, credible prosecutions of individuals who are directly responsible for these appalling violations of human rights, and an end to the severe discrimination against women," he said.

The commission is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

In early November, Vice President Kamala Harris said the United States would work with other nations to oust Iran from the commission.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had also campaigned for the move.

Opponents, including Russia and China, noted that Iran had been elected to the body and that expelling it set "a dangerous precedent."

Meanwhile, the White House welcomed the "historic" vote, calling it "another sign of the growing international consensus on Iran and demands for accountability."

"The United States is working with our allies and partners around the world to hold Iran accountable for the abuses it is committing against its own people, notably peaceful protesters, women and girls, and the violence it is enabling against the Ukrainian people," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

"The recent horrifying executions in Tehran only strengthen our resolve to expand this growing consensus and pursue all possible mechanisms of accountability against the Iranian regime and its officials responsible for these atrocities," he added.

Iran has carried out two executions during nationwide protests, which has been widely condemned by the international community and rights experts.

It has been rocked by widespread protests following the death of Mahsa Amini while she was in police custody in September for not wearing her attire properly. A government crackdown has since continued since her death.

Thousands have been detained, according to human rights groups, while more than 200 have died.

Foreign-based NGOs, however, have put the number of fatalities at more than 450, with the U.S. and EU imposing a slew of human rights-related sanctions on officials and entities.