Hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned about the danger of a nuclear Iran in his UN General Assembly speech in New York, Iran was elected as rapporteur for the committee responsible for Disarmament and International Security, a body that deals with all matters regarding disarmament — including nuclear weapons.
The Iranian representative, who replaces a Norwegian diplomat, will be rapporteur for the UN’s “First Committee” which is responsible for “disarmament, global challenges and threats to peace that affect the international community and seeks out solutions to the challenges in the international security regime.” The committee comprises representatives of all UN 193 member states,
The rapporteur is charged with reporting on the committee’s proceedings to the General Assembly for the current 68th session.
Last July, when Iran applied for the rapporteur position, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, said in a statement that “allowing Iran to be on the UN committee dealing with nuclear disarmament and weapons proliferation is like inviting Assad, the Syrian dictator responsible for the death of 100,000 of his own people, to be the head of the population census bureau.”
Asked why Tehran was interested in the position, a spokesman for Iran’s UN mission said at the time: “It’s a normal routine by a member state.”
In addition to appointing Iran as rapporteur, the committee gave the position of chair to Libya and vice chairs to Germany, Ecuador and Montenegro.
The committee has no authority to make binding decisions, but is in charge of drafting resolutions on the subject of international security, many of which are later debated and often accepted by the General Assembly. It also cooperates with the Conference on Disarmament, based in Geneva, and the UN’s Disarmament Commission.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called Iran’s election ‘’simply unbelievable’’ and “the height of hypocrisy.”
In a statement, Barry Curtiss-Lusher, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, said : ‘’This action, which comes on a day dominated by the discussion about Iran’s nuclear weapons program and Syria’s use of chemical weapons, represents the height of hypocrisy at the UN.’’
‘’The international community’s greatest global challenge is the Iranian regime with its countless violations of international conventions, and threats to peace through its nuclear weapons program and sponsorship of world-wide terrorism,’’ they added.
‘’Iran’s election to be the face of the First Committee in the General Assembly only serves to further undermine the U.N.’s credibility.’’