Faced with the deadly repression in Iran, which rages against demonstrators in support of Mahsa Amini and who oppose the regime’s “morality police”, the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, wishes to mobilize women ministers through the world. Ms. Joly summoned fifteen of her counterparts on Thursday, hoping to convince them to raise their voices against Tehran.
The situation in Iran is “extremely worrying”, she lamented in Parliament on Wednesday. “A young woman… In fact, not even… A child was killed by the Iranian regime. Her name was Asra Panahi. She was 16 years old. And, essentially, she was killed because she refused to sing the national anthem,” lamented Minister Joly, at a press briefing.
Asra Panahi was among a group of young female students who were allegedly beaten by law enforcement, during an intervention at their school last week in which a group of them allegedly refused to praise the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His death was announced on Monday.
Iran has been the scene of massive protests since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in hospital last September after being arrested by vice police in Tehran for violating the dress code. imposed on women in the country.
A broad consensus sought
Mélanie Joly has brought together 14 women foreign ministers, who have confirmed their presence for the virtual meeting to be held on Thursday morning.
The objective will be to “keep the momentum” of the international community and to encourage the countries which will take part in the meeting to in turn impose more severe sanctions on the Iranian regime, she explained to Parliament on Wednesday.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will attend the meeting, as will the ministers of Senegal, Aïssata Tall Sall, and Chile, Antonia Urrejola. They will be joined by the chief diplomats of New Zealand, Norway, Iceland, Kosovo, Albania, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Libya, Central African Republic, Mongolia and Panama.
The meeting will be an opportunity “to listen to the testimony of women of Iranian origin and to discuss the worrying situation of women’s rights and human rights in Iran,” said Mélanie Joly in a press release. “This meeting will give influential female diplomats the opportunity to coordinate their efforts and discuss ways to increase their collective support for the Iranian people. »
Minister Joly has become accustomed to joining forces with her female colleagues on the international scene She notably coordinated within the G7 with Minister Baerbock and the former British Foreign Minister who recently became Prime Minister, Liz Truss , to stand up to the Russian regime of Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Sanctions imposed
The Canadian government has imposed sanctions against 42 individuals and 12 entities in Iran since the beginning of the month. More than 10,000 of Iran’s top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) leaders have also been inadmissible to Canada.
The Iranian regime’s crackdown on protesters has left at least 122 people dead, according to Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Watch, including at least 23 children between the ages of 11 and 17 according to Amnesty International.
The Conservative Party of Canada urges the Canadian government to do more and list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity. Experts argue that this would however be excessively complex to implement and enforce.