NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Iran’s possible election to a major United Nations (UN) committee with influence on policy-making relating to human rights, women’s rights and counter-terrorism is “Orwellian”, says the head of a UN monitoring group. In November, the UN General Assembly is scheduled to vote on Iran’s admission to the Committee for Program and Coordination, a 34-member body whose member states serve three-year terms. The next vote is expected to pass as a formality. The committee does not draft human rights treaties or issue condemnations of human rights abuses, but it plays an influential administrative role in how human rights initiatives are carried out across the UN system. The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) nominated Iran in April despite Tehran’s documented history of systematic human rights abuses, crackdowns on women’s rights, mass surveillance and use of lethal force against political dissidents. PROTESTER LINKED TO ANTI- REGIME UNREST In November, Iran could be chosen to serve on the UN’s Program and Coordination Committee, which has influence over how human rights initiatives are carried out across the global body. (Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images, File) Global bodies also consider Tehran a major state sponsor of terrorism that funds proxy militant groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Additionally, Tehran has attacked neighboring Gulf states in recent months amid a war with the United States. “It’s the last government in the world that should have any influence,” Hillel Neuer, executive director of Geneva-based UN Watch, told Fox News Digital. “Unfortunately, today in the United Nations, an organization founded after World War II out of great idealism to achieve international peace, it is a case of lunatics running the asylum,” Neuer added. “There is the Islamic Republic of Iran, a regime that beats, blinds, tortures, rapes and imprisons women for defending their rights or showing a few strands of hair.” ISRAEL ACCUSES UN OF PLACING IT ON SAME SEXUAL VIOLENCE BLACKLIST AS HAMAS TERRORISTS, CUT TIES Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during the United Nations General Assembly, September 24, 2025, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)Fox News Digital has contacted Iran’s Permanent Mission to the UN for comment. Iran’s appointment would be unprecedented. The 47 member states of the UN Human Rights Council currently include nations with severely criticized human rights records, including China, Cuba, Pakistan and Eritrea. IRAN CHANGES 2 PROTESTERS IN PUBLIC, CROWD SCREAMS ‘DISHONORABLE’ AS SECURITY FIRE TEAR GAS Maryam Shariatmadari is detained by Iranian security forces after removing her hijab in protest against mandatory headscarf laws during the “Girls of Revolution Street” demonstrations in Tehran. Shariatmadari was later sentenced to prison for what authorities described as “encouraging corruption by removing her hijab.” (Fox News Digital) “The United Nations speaks on behalf of values and principles such as human rights, democracy, freedom, equality and women’s rights,” Neuer said. “The reality is that, unfortunately, at least half of the UN is made up of dictatorships.” Tehran continues to brutally repress basic freedoms. In July, two men were publicly hanged for participating in anti-government protests across the country, while hundreds more remain imprisoned or killed for demanding regime change. Protests in Iran killed Rubina Aminian, a 23-year-old textile design student, who was shot in the head at point-blank range during the Tehran demonstrations, according to Iran Human Rights. (MAHSA/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images/Iran Human Rights)In addition, the UN has been accused of bias for harshly criticizing Israel’s military actions in Gaza, while often failing to pass formal resolutions or issue direct condemnations of Hamas. According to Neuer, the most disappointing aspect of Iran’s possible appointment of a committee is the willingness of Western democracies to accept. cynicism, politics, deals and a ‘get along to get along’ culture,” Neuer said. “If you are the ambassador of France, Canada or Germany, you don’t want to start a fight with dozens of countries or trigger friction with Iran. “They would rather just avoid it.”
