The UN Does It Again: Saudi Arabia Chairs the UN Women’s Rights Commission
The United Nations has once again proven its stunning lack of credibility.
Once again, the United Nations has showcased its astonishing hypocrisy. Saudi Arabia, a country infamous for its repression of women, is now leading the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Until March 21st, the kingdom will oversee an international conference supposedly dedicated to gender equality, the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The contradiction could not be more glaring.
Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, put it bluntly:
“Electing Saudi Arabia to head the world body for protecting women’s rights is like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank.”
And yet, that is exactly what has happened. By elevating one of the most restrictive regimes in the world to a leadership role on women’s rights, the UN has sent a clear message: principles and morals do not exist at the UN.
In 2023, the MPTF was the largest single donor to UN Women, providing $51.94 million, surpassing individual country contributions. The UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) is a pooled financing mechanism that channels contributions from multiple donors to support UN programs, including gender equality initiatives.
Among the top government donors were Sweden ($50.26 million), Norway ($22.63 million), Germany ($19.6 million), and Canada ($14.98 million). Notably, the United States contributed $18.82 million, with $12 million allocated as core funding. Despite such significant funding from democratic nations, UN Women has undermined its own mission by allowing Saudi Arabia—a country that imprisons and tortures women’s rights activists—to chair its top women’s rights commission, further exposing the UN’s hypocrisy. Saudi Arabia’s Reality: A Regime That Silences Women.
Despite claims of reform, Saudi Arabia remains one of the harshest environments for women. The male guardianship system, reaffirmed in law in 2022, ensures that women are legally dependent on male relatives for essential activities like traveling, working, or accessing medical care. Saudi Arabia subjugates women through its male guardianship system and jails and tortures women’s rights activists.
Women who dare to challenge the system face brutal repression:
Salma al-Shehab was sentenced to 27 years in prison for social media posts supporting women’s rights.
Nourah al-Qahtani was handed 45 years for similar online advocacy.
Manahel al-Otaibi received an 11-year sentence for posting a picture without an abaya and speaking against guardianship laws.
These are not isolated incidents but part of a broader effort to crush dissent and the rights of women.
While the UN often presents itself as a “champion of gender equality,” its actions tell a different story. The Commission on the Status of Women has never issued a resolution condemning:
Saudi Arabia, despite its systematic oppression of women.
Yemen, where most girls are forced into marriage before they turn 18.
Iran, where women are legally treated as inferior and risk imprisonment for defying hijab laws.
Pakistan, where honor killings and domestic violence remain rampant.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been described as the “rape capital of the world.”
Instead, the CSW produces symbolic statements while allowing the worst offenders to maintain a seat at the table.
“As chair, Saudi Arabia is now in a key position to influence the planning and decisions of the world’s top women’s right body. Yet despite cosmetic reforms, Saudi Arabia continues to subject women to legal discrimination, where they are effectively enslaved under a male guardianship system that was enshrined into law three years ago, ironically on international women’s day,” said Neuer.
How Did This Happen?
On March 27, 2024, Saudi Arabia was unanimously chosen as chair—because it was the only candidate. The UN’s regional group system rotates leadership positions, ensuring that nations can take on key roles without meaningful scrutiny.
This is hardly a first for the UN. In 2022, Iran was elected to the same commission, sparking outrage and a global campaign that eventually led to its removal. Yet, here we are again—another authoritarian regime legitimized by the very institution that claims to protect human rights.
UN Women and its chief, Sima Bahous, openly celebrated Saudi Arabia’s appointment, ignoring the brutal reality faced by women’s rights activists in the kingdom. Under Saudi rule, women who fight for their own basic freedoms are routinely imprisoned, tortured, and silenced. Yet the very body tasked with promoting gender equality is now led by a nation that criminalizes it. This endorsement from UN Women is not just tone-deaf—it is a betrayal of every woman suffering under Saudi Arabia’s oppressive laws.
The Bottom Line
By appointing Saudi Arabia to lead its top women’s rights body, the UN has further eroded its credibility. This decision betrays women suffering under oppressive regimes and proves once again that human rights at the UN are little more than a bargaining chip.
With Saudi Arabia now at the helm of its Commission on the Status of Women, donor countries must question whether their money is supporting genuine gender equality—or merely enabling another UN charade. Another day, another disgrace. How much longer will the world continue to take the UN seriously?
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The UN has become a joke.
You can't make up stuff like this. Truth is stranger than fiction.