UN General Assembly reconfirms Iran’s committee seat

The UN General Assembly reconfirmed Iran’s existing seat on the Committee for Programme and Coordination on 11 November, with 144 ballots in support, Fox News said. Canada and Australia said they voted against Iran’s inclusion.

The decision keeps Iran on a body that reviews UN programs and their results, recommends priorities and guides program design. The committee works under the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council; it recommends work programs to carry out the intent of policy-making bodies rather than independently setting UN policy. It reports to the requesting body on its reviews of the implementation of legislative decisions.

Governments object to Iran’s seat

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said committee members must uphold the UN Charter, and accused Iran’s government of silencing dissent and fueling instability in the Middle East. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong cited what she described as Iran’s human rights violations and destabilizing conduct.

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee called Iran the world’s biggest exporter of terrorism and described the UN as morally bankrupt. It described the UN committee as responsible for establishing priorities on disarmament, counterterrorism and women’s rights; the committee’s official mandate is to review programs and recommend priorities.

Before the vote, Hillel Neuer, executive director of the human rights watchdog UN Watch, said continued membership would give Iran propaganda material and a measure of international legitimacy. He argued that it would send an encouraging signal to a government he accused of repressing dissidents and women.