Iran Elected to the UN Committee for Programme and Coordination With 144 Votes in a Secret General Assembly Ballot
The UN General Assembly, at the 40th plenary meeting of its 81st session on November 11, elected Iran to the Committee for Programme and Coordination by secret ballot, with 144 votes. Iran's new three-year term begins on January 1, 2027. The committee is the main subsidiary organ of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council for planning, programming and coordination, and has 34 member states.
In the Asia-Pacific group, all four seats were filled: Pakistan received 178 votes, India 176, Japan 172 and Iran 144. A total of 185 ballot papers were issued and all were valid; there were 2 abstentions, 183 members were present and voting, and the required majority was 92. Nineteen states were elected that day, including Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Israel and South Africa, while one Western European seat remained vacant pending a nomination from the Economic and Social Council. Iran was re-elected; its current term expires on December 31, 2026. When the Council nominated Iran by consensus on April 8 this year, the United States was the only member to object publicly and disassociate itself from the nomination.
Because the ballot was secret, individual votes were not published. Among governments that stated their position publicly, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Canada was steadfastly opposed to giving Iran the seat and had voted against its inclusion. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia strongly opposed Iran's nomination and voted against it. Republican members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee also issued a statement condemning the result.
The Committee for Programme and Coordination reviews UN programmes and recommends priorities. Its programme reviews cover fields including development, human rights, women's issues, disarmament and counter-terrorism, but the committee issues no binding rulings and imposes no sanctions.
(Source: UN General Assembly)
Source: UN General Assembly
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 New York 的联合国大会堂（2024年，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons）。 / Photo: The UN General Assembly Hall in New York in 2024 (CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
