You know, it’s a remarkable thing, the United Nations. Remarkable in its ambitions, remarkable in its founding ideals, and remarkable, above all, in its capacity to look directly at the world as it is and see something else entirely.
Iranian missiles and drones have targeted or threatened territory across at least a dozen states, among them Israel, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Cyprus, and Azerbaijan. A regime that has spent 47 years declaring its intentions is now making good on them at scale.
Worth noting, then, that Iran currently sits on not one but two United Nations bodies, and until the end of 2025 chaired a third. It holds the Vice-Chairmanship of the UN Commission for Social Development, whose priority theme this session is promoting democracy, gender equality, and ensuring tolerance and non-violence. It holds the Vice-Chairmanship of the UN Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations, the body specifically tasked with upholding the founding principles of international peace and security. That committee’s Chair, for the record, is Venezuela. And through 2025, Iran chaired the Asia-Pacific Group on the UN Human Rights Council.
The election to the Commission for Social Development took place in January 2026. It was conducted by acclamation. There were no objections. When a reporter asked the UN Secretary-General’s spokesman whether Mr. Guterres would condemn the election, spokesman Stéphane Dujarric replied: “The election of any member state to a body is the result of voting by member states themselves.” The spokesman did not elaborate. One imagines there was not much more to say.
The Commission’s Priority Theme, For Reference.
It’s worth remembering what the Commission for Social Development is actually for. Its stated mission is the promotion of social development, democratic governance, gender equality, and the protection of the rights of vulnerable populations. Its current session is devoted, specifically, to ensuring tolerance and non-violence.
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