As noted here yesterday, Samantha Power, the Ireland born, US Ambassador to the UN was conveniently not present when the United Nations' Economic and Social Council elected Iran to serve a four year term on the 45 nation Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).  As mentioned, she did huff and puff and tweet her outrage post election.  Also conveniently, no other country objected to this farce.  

Iran will have good company on the CSW though, joining other countries certainly not noted for their interest in women's rights--or even their lives--such as African members dictatorial Equatorial Guinea and Somalia and Asian-Pacific members Bangladesh and United Arab Emirates.  Saudi Arabia, where women can't even obtain drivers licenses, is a contributing country of the CSW but not a member.

But wait, there is more tragic farce and sad hypocrisy from the UN reports UN Watch.  

Despite (because of?) preaching hatred against Big Satan United States and Little Satan Jews and Israel, Iran was also elected as one of the 19 members of the Committee on NGOs (non governmental organizations), once again joining other human rights abusers on a committee monitoring human rights organizations.  Hmm, what could possibly happen?UN Watch explains the importance of this amazing election.  Election to the Committee on NGOs is

a coveted position because it allows governments to silence criticism by acting as the gatekeeper and overseer of all human rights groups that seek to work inside the world body.

Other egregious human rights abusers elected to the influential panel include Azerbaijan, China, Cuba, slave-holding Mauritania, Russia, and Sudan, whose leader, President Omar al-Bashir, is wanted by the ICC for genocide. All were deemed "not free" in the 2014 annual survey by Freedom House.

Burundi, Guinea, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Turkey, Venezuela, flagged as problematic and only "partly free" by Freedom House, were also elected.

Iran rejected Ambassador Power's weak, post election, pseudo outrage

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

The Islamic Republic of Iran categorically rejects baseless accusations raised in the statement of U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations regarding status of human rights and civil liberties in the Islamic Republic of Iran and find these assertions both unconstructive, obstructive and against the spirit of cooperation between sovereign member states and the principles of sovereign equality of states.

In the past decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran has routinely adopted effective and constructive approach in relation to all multilateral issues within the framework of the UN as well as its bilateral relationship with other states.

Civil society and thousands of NGOs are actively pursuing their goals in different areas such as social, economic, environmental, political, women and human rights, etc in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Against this backdrop, It is obvious that Iran’s active presence in UN bodies will be helpful and serve the attainment of non-governmental organization objectives.

If the fox, (Committee on NGOs) as presently constituted, is guarding the hen house, who will be blamed when the hens (the non governmental organizations) are destroyed?  Hint: not the fox.  

And the US remains a member of the UN because...?