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It worked. Fearing it would lose, or fearing bad publicity that might get beamed back into the country, Iran withdrew its bid on April 23. The human rights groups claimed "victory." American officials spoke loftily of a "step in the right direction."

And the result? Five days later, another committee, the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women -- a body dedicated to "gender equality and the advancement of women" -- put out a turgid news release announcing its new members. Among them will be . . . the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Which is fine, unless you think that the "advancement of women" should not include stoning them for alleged adultery. And unless you think, as I do, that it is time to abandon the fiction of U.N. human rights diplomacy altogether -- or if you worry, as perhaps we all ought to, that Iran knows its way around U.N. nuclear diplomacy better than we imagine.