Transport Minister Shane Ross has said the public is “entitled” to know how Ireland voted on Saudi Arabia’s election to the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

LATEST: Taoiseach Enda Kenny has defended the Government's decision not to disclose whether Ireland voted to elect for Saudi Arabia to a major body on human rights.

The number of women diplomats at the United Nations has always been low and for the last 70 years only a few have gotten seats on the Security Council.

Ireland has not done enough to tackle violence against women or female genital mutilation across the EU, according to Amnesty International.

Egypt’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood warned that a UN declaration on women’s rights could destroy society, by allowing a woman to travel, work, and use contraception without her husband’s approval and letting her control family spending.