Despite opposition from the United States, Iran has been accepted as a member of the governing board of the UN Agency for Women.
Iran belongs to the Asia-Pacific States, which according to UN regulations gets five seats. Samoa, United Arab Emirates, Turkmenistan, Pakistan and Iran were put forward for the five seats.
The 54-member Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) voted for the five countries, and Iran got the lowest number of votes at 36.
U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said she was “deeply disappointed” by the result.
This is a three-year term, and Iran’s membership will commence at the beginning of 2016.
The state of women’s rights in Iran has been repeatedly criticized by human rights groups.
