Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 April 2026
338. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for her view or position on the appointment of the Government of Iran to a United Nations committee on women’s rights and child welfare; and for her view on what this appointment says for the credibility of such UN structures. [28544/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraElections to subsidiary bodies of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations were held on 8 April. These included the election of 19 new members to the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC).
The CPC is responsible for reviewing the programmes of ECOSOC and assisting in the performance of its coordination functions within the United Nations system. The CPC has responsibility for reviewing UN programme plans, recommending priorities, and making recommendations. The CPC does not have the mandate to alter any normative mandates, policies or programmes. When the CPC makes recommendations, these are then referred to the 5th Committee of the UN General Assembly, where each Member State is represented, including Ireland, for further consideration and deliberation.
The CPC has a total of 34 Members who are elected to three-year-terms according to geographical distribution: 9 from African States, 7 from the Asia-Pacific States, 4 from Eastern European States, 7 from Latin American and Caribbean States and 7 from Western European and other States groups.
On 8 April, there were 19 candidates in total for the 19 vacancies on the CPC. A vote was not held and the ECOSOC agreed by consensus to nominate all candidates to the CPC. There were 4 vacancies for the Asia-Pacific group and these were filled by the 4 candidates from that group: Iran, India, Pakistan and Japan.
Ireland is not currently a member of the ECOSOC and therefore we did not participate in these elections.
Ireland has consistently condemned Iran’s violations of human rights, including the repression of protests, denial of women’s rights and continued high number of executions, and has supported EU sanctions linked to human rights violations. We will continue to condemn Iran's egregious and deplorable violations of human rights, and we will continue to raise the issue of Iran’s violations of human rights directly with Iranian officials, at the EU, the United Nations, and more broadly at international level.
