Iran has dropped its bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council amidst strong global criticism. This opposition has been driven by Iranian and global human rights activists, including Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi. In an open letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Members of the UN General Assembly, Ebadi outlined the Islamic Republic of Iran’s egregious and constant breaches of international law and international covenants that it has signed onto.

The move to drop the bid has been praised, and is believed to show far-reaching disapproval of the continued human rights abuses carried out by the oppressive regime on its citizens.

This small step forward, however, has been met by a very large step back. As reward for pulling out of the running for a seat on the Human Rights Council, Iran has instead been granted an uncontested seat for the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The irony is palpable. A country that has consistently and systematically violated the most basic human rights of its female citizens now has a voice in the global body dedicated to promoting gender equality and the advancement of women.

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Read the open letter by Shirin Ebadi to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Members of the UN General Assembly.

Iran, gender discrimination, and the UN’s Women’s Commission, Foreign Policy, 27 April 2010.

Iran drops bid for Human Rights Council seat, The Washington Post, 23 April 2010.

Iran’s bid for UN human rights panel seat fails, Politico, 23 April 2010.