UN General Assembly Elects Iran to Program Committee

The United Nations General Assembly elected the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) on November 11 via a secret ballot. Iran received 144 votes for a three-year term beginning January 1, 2027. The 34-member committee is responsible for reviewing UN programs and recommending priorities for human rights, women's rights, disarmament, and counterterrorism.

The appointment drew immediate condemnation from several Western nations. The United States, Canada, and Australia all opposed the election, citing Iran's human rights record and destabilizing influence in the Middle East. In the U.S., the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Republican majority described the UN as morally bankrupt for granting legitimacy to a regime they characterized as a major exporter of terrorism.

Israel also objected to the result, alleging double standards in the treatment of candidates. UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer called the election a travesty of justice, pointing to the regime's history of massacres. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom government denied supporting the nomination, explaining that the Asia-Pacific Group of states had agreed on a slate of candidates including Iran, India, Japan, and Pakistan, making the process an automaticity that the UK could not block.