GENEVA, November 11, 2026 — UN Watch, the independent Geneva-based non-governmental organization that monitors the United Nations, today welcomed Canada’s announcement that it voted today against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s election to the UN Committee for Programme and Coordination, the main UN body shaping the world organization’s priorities on women’s rights, human rights, disarmament, and counterterrorism.
On Wednesday, the UN General Assembly elected Iran to the committee by secret ballot, with 144 states voting in favor.
Following the vote, Foreign Minister Anita Anand stated: “Canada is steadfastly opposed to giving Iran a seat on the UN Committee for Programme and Coordination — and Canada voted against Iran’s inclusion today at the UN. The committee should be comprised of countries entrusted with shaping the work of the United Nations and must uphold the principles of its Charter. The Iranian regime silences dissent at home and fuels instability across the Middle East. We stand with the people of Iran.”
“I commend Minister Anand for reversing course and voting against the murderous Iranian regime,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch. “This is the right position, and it is the one we urged Canada to take.”
In an op-ed published this week in the National Post, Neuer called on Minister Anand to request a vote at the General Assembly and to rally fellow democracies to vote No.
“I only wish Canada had taken this exact position in April, when the Iranian regime was nominated by a consensus decision that included the Canadian government,” Neuer said.
Neuer added: “Make no mistake: electing the murderous Islamic regime in Iran to a UN body charged with reviewing women’s rights, disarmament, and counter-terrorism, is like putting Count Dracula in charge of the blood bank.”
Prior Canadian Foreign Ministers Refused to Reveal U.N. Votes in Secret Ballot
The minister’s disclosure is notable. Her predecessors refused to reveal how their governments voted in UN secret-ballot elections.
“Canada and other governments almost never say how they voted in a UN secret ballot,” said Neuer. “That Minister Anand responded to our appeal and chose to put Canada’s No vote on the public record is significant, and it sets a standard other democracies should now meet.”
From Silence in April to a No Vote in November
On April 8, 2026, the UN’s 54-nation Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) nominated Iran to the committee by consensus. The United States was the only member to object, declaring the regime unfit. Canada, along with Britain, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Austria and Australia, remained silent.
When UN Watch exposed the silence, Global Affairs Canada claimed that Iran had been nominated by the Asia-Pacific Group, that Canada “did not endorse or vote for this nomination,” and that the committee was merely “an advisory body with no decision-making role.” The post was swiftly corrected by a Community Note on X.
“Today Canada recognized that this committee matters, and that Iran’s regime has no place on it,” said Neuer. “Now Ottawa must make that policy from the start. Next time Iran is nominated at ECOSOC, where these decisions are effectively made, Canada should take the floor, object, and lead other democracies to do the same, as it had done in 2010.”
Other Democracies Must Say How They Voted
UN Watch called on the other democracies that joined April’s consensus — Britain, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Austria and Australia — to state publicly whether they voted for or against Iran.
“When you have 144 countries voting to reward a regime that massacred tens of thousands of its own citizens for the crime of protesting,” said Neuer, “every democracy owes its citizens an answer: were you among them?”
Key documents
- Hillel Neuer, National Post op-ed: “Anita Anand can stop Iran from being acclaimed to UN body shaping women’s rights”
- UN Watch: Canada slapped with Community Note for denying it nominated Iran
- U.S. explanation of position dissociating from Iran’s nomination, April 8, 2026
- UN document A/81/386: Election of members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination
