(OTTAWA) Canada and three other countries are turning to the international tribunal to ensure that Iran is held responsible for shooting down Ukrainian Airlines flight PS752 more than three years ago.
Along with Britain, Sweden and Ukraine, Canada called on Iran six months ago to agree to binding arbitration through a UN convention designed to protect airliners from attack .
The International Coordination and Response Group for the victims of Flight PS752 said in a joint statement on Thursday that since Iran has not accepted this request, the dispute will be submitted to the International Court of Justice “as soon as possible”.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down the Ukrainian Airlines flight just minutes after takeoff on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 people on board.
Among the passengers were 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents, as well as others with ties to Canada. The other victims had links to Sweden, the United Kingdom and Ukraine.
The call for binding arbitration follows years of failed negotiations with Tehran to seek compensation and ensure those responsible are held accountable.
The Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, planned to meet the families of the victims of flight PS752 on Thursday to take stock of the next steps in this file.
” Time is up. We are taking Iran to the International Court of Justice for shooting down flight PS752, as promised to the families of the victims, she wrote on Twitter. We will get the transparency, accountability & justice that families deserve. Impunity is not an option. »
Kourosh Doustshenas, whose fiancée died when the plane was shot down, hailed the intervention at the international court as a step forward.
Despite Iran’s reluctance to engage in arbitration, the next process will take place “whether they like it or not”, said Mr Doustshenas, spokesman for the Association of Families of the Victims of Flight PS752 .