(Ottawa) Organization urges US President Joe Biden to use his new ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to help Canada and its allies obtain compensation from Iran.
Canada and its allies want Iran to accept responsibility for the crash of an airliner shot down by its armed forces two years ago.
A plane from Ukraine International Airlines was shot down by Iranian forces on January 8, 2020, near Tehran airport. More than 100 of the 176 people killed in the crash had ties to Canada, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.
According to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the United States should target money that airlines pay Iran for the use of its airspace.
Its vice president of government relations, Toby Dershowitz, says Iran lost about $ 96 million in airline revenue in 2020, a 50% drop from the previous year.
“If we targeted these revenues with a coordinated boycott, it would open another way to convince Iran to accept responsibility for the tragedy,” she told The Canadian Press on Sunday. The Biden administration, in liaison with Canada and the UK, should consider setting up an escrow account into which money paid by airlines to Iran would be deposited until the regime has demonstrated that ‘It complied with its international obligations by answering questions, identifying those responsible and implementing new security measures. ”
Mme Dershowitz suggested this strategy in an article published last week in The Hill. She had requested that Mr. Sullenberger lead the case to ICAO.
A US Air Force veteran, Mr. Sullenberger is the pilot who landed an Airbus 320 on the Hudson River near New York 10 years ago. Joe Biden recently appointed him to ICAO.
PHOTO DARREN ORNITZ, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Ex-pilot Chesley Sullenberger
“The United States must not allow the Islamic Republic to profit from the revenues generated by the rights to use its airspace until Tehran recognizes its responsibility in the crash of the PS752. ”
An ICAO spokesperson told The Canadian Press that the agency does not have a mandate to take a hard line against Iran over the PS752 tragedy.
“If the United States formally presents such a proposal, other ICAO member countries can consider it. Despite what has been reported, our agency does not have the capacity or the mission to punish or reprimand countries that violate international aviation standards. Under international law, only one country can hold another country to account, including through economic sanctions. ”
Global Affairs Canada says the government continues to work jointly with Britain, Sweden and Ukraine to hold Iran to account.
“Our demands go beyond financial compensation,” said spokesperson Jason Kung. We cannot currently comment on our judicial strategy or any action Canada may take against Iran to ensure that it accepts responsibility for this tragedy. ”
Mr. Kung adds that Canada and its allies have exerted pressure on Iran at ICAO, the United Nations Assembly and the United Nations Human Rights Council. “We are working closely with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions in Iran. ”