Iran & Saudis Could Join UN Women's Rights Body

Just when you thought the UN couldn't lose more credibility, comes news that Iran and Saudi Arabia may join the UN body which promotes women's rights.

Just when you thought the United Nations could not lose any more credibility, comes news that Iran and Saudi Arabia are poised to join the UN Women’s Agency, the UN body charged with promoting women's rights and gender equality.

The proposed UN women’s group follows an earlier resolution of the UN General Assembly in July this year to merge four UN bodies dealing with women’s issues into a single agency.

The group is to be composed of 41 members, with 35 chosen by regional groups and six representing donor nations. The Asian group has put forward an uncontested 10-nation list that includes Iran, while Saudi Arabia has been selected for one of two slots for emerging donor nations. Although it is possible that other Asian nations or emerging donor nations could become candidates, UN diplomats said that is not likely.

Both Iran’s and Saudi Arabia’s records on women’s rights are well known and nothing short of appalling.

According to Philippe Bolopion, UN advocacy director for Human Rights Watch:

it's puzzling that Iran would have the nerve to be a candidate for the board of UN Women...having on top of it Saudi Arabia, a country with a track record on women's rights as horrendous as Iran's, would add insult to injury.

In the event that the 54 nations of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which are expected to elect the UN Women’s board on 10 November, elect Iran or Saudi Arabia, ECOSOC should be disbanded immediately and the UN Women’s group should not be allowed to get off the ground. Any less would make an absolute mockery of women’s rights.

Iran and Saudi Arabia seeking to join the UN Women’s group is yet another example, together with Libya’s recent addition to the UN Human Rights Council, of totalitarian and anti-democratic regimes seeking to hijack the UN agenda.  These nations join such committees in order to shield their own atrocious records of abuse. But even worse are the free nations that stand in silence while this happens.