RUTHFULLY YOURS

The United Nations was founded on the promise of upholding peace, justice, and universal human rights. Today, however, it appears less like a beacon of morality and more like a stage for savagery and hypocrisy.

The UN is quick to condemn democratic nations such as the United States and Israel for defending their citizens and fighting terrorism, but goes out of its way to protect, coddle, and even elevate some of the world’s most brutal and oppressive regimes — most notably Iran. The UN, which should be standing with the oppressed, is instead handing power and legitimacy to their oppressors.

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) – from which President Donald J. Trump mercifully withdrew the United States, again appointed representatives from the Iranian regime in February, to serve as “human rights experts.” Iran’s Afsaneh Nadipour was among seven individuals chosen to advise the UNHRC on global human rights issues. The irony could not be more striking — or disturbing. How can a regime that suppresses free speech, executes political prisoners and imprisons women for not covering their hair now sit in judgment of others on human rights? It is as if the UN places arsonists in charge of the fire department and then acts surprised when the firehouse burns down.

Appointing Iranians to the UNHRC was not a small bureaucratic matter — it has enormous consequences, both practical and symbolic. For the countless freedom fighters, women and dissidents in Iran who risk their lives every day to oppose tyranny, the UN’s decision is a devastating betrayal. When an international body such as the UN elevates the very regime that tortures and murders these courageous people, it sends a clear message: You are on your own; the world will not stand with you. It tells every activist behind bars and every mother who lost her child in protests that the international community would rather shake hands and enjoy lunch with dictators than confront them.

This kind of moral blindness destroys credibility and weakens any legitimate human rights advocacy. It turns the UNHRC into a parody of its mission. Instead of amplifying the cries of the oppressed, it gives microphones to their oppressors. By giving a brutal regime a seat at the human rights table, the UN has not only insulted the victims of tyranny but also emboldened the tyrants themselves.

The Iranian regime is one of the world’s most notorious violators of human rights, yet it now enjoys a place of honor at the corrupt UN. The statistics are horrifying. According to the UN and numerous human rights organizations, Iran has executed more than 1,000 people in just the first nine months of 2025—an “unprecedented execution spree” that observers of the UN have described as a campaign of state terror. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have both accused Iran of weaponizing the death penalty to crush dissent, intimidate citizens and silence minority groups.

In 2024, Iran executed at least 975 people, the highest toll in nearly a decade. The regime has turned public hangings and secret executions into instruments of political control. The victims include protesters, ethnic minorities, and young people who dared to demand freedom during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement.

Women in Iran live under an especially brutal system of repression. They face arrest, lashes, and imprisonment for refusing to wear the mandatory hijab. The regime punishes those who speak out, silences journalists, and even, under Islamic law, allows child marriage. Iranian women’s rights activists such as Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Narges Mohammadi remain in prison for the “crime” of advocating equality. Yet the UN, instead of sanctioning Tehran, has chosen to promote one of its representatives as a human rights advisor. This is not a joke — it is an insult to every woman who has been beaten, imprisoned or executed for wanting freedom.

The reaction to the UN’s move was fierce. Some leaders, lawmakers, and human rights groups worldwide immediately denounced the decision. U.S. Senator Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, condemned the appointments as “ludicrous,” asking:

“How do you expect countries such as China and Iran to advise this organization on human rights? One is exporting terrorism and jailing women, and the other is throwing ethnic minorities in concentration camps.”

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, called the promotion a shameless act:

“The U.N. elected Beijing’s and Tehran’s loyal agents as ‘human rights experts’—without a ballot, without shame. These regimes persecute minorities, jail anyone who speaks freely, and rule through fear and censorship.”

Lawdan Bazargan, an Iranian-American activist, described Iran’s appointment as “a slap in the face to the courageous women of Iran,” and emphasized that the UN is rewarding the same system that jails and tortures women for refusing to wear a headscarf.

Despite the backlash, the appointments remain in place.

You do not promote democracy and human rights by elevating the perpetrators of abuse. You do not end oppression by inviting dictators to sit on the UN Human Rights Council. Real progress comes only through accountability. The UN should be sanctioning brutal regimes, isolating them diplomatically, and putting maximum pressure on them economically and politically. It should be empowering and funding the voices of dissidents and activists, not the diplomats who crush them.

Instead, the UN has chosen the path of moral cowardice. It shakes hands with tyrants and smiles for the cameras while ordinary people are beaten, imprisoned and executed. This kind of hypocrisy does not just damage the UN’s reputation — it gets people killed.

The United Nations, which is supposed to represent the conscience of the world, has become a mockery of justice and a platform for brutality. It condemns democracies for defending themselves, while embracing regimes that commit relentless atrocities. It preaches about human rights while handing out titles to the governments that violate them most. This is not neutrality — it is moral corruption.

The UN is an organization that clearly has not the slightest intention of living up to its founding ideals. Those countries funding it, especially the United States, must stop empowering tyrants and start holding them accountable. The US should pay only for the programs it wants and get what it pays for, or at least, as US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz has suggested, pay only commensurately for UN support. The US needs to stop smiling, drinking coffee with murderers — and especially funding them — and instead stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those fighting for freedom. Until that happens, the UN will remain what it has sadly become: an expensive, corrupt horror show at the expense of humanity’s most courageous people.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and board member of Harvard International Review. He has authored several books on the US foreign policy. He can be reached at dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu