441-02387 (Foreign affairs)

Canada's commitment to advancing gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls, and the promotion and protection of human rights is unwavering. The Government of Iran’s continued use of cruel and violent tactics to repress the human rights of its citizens, notably women and girls, is egregious. Our message is clear: this must end.

For decades, Canada has demonstrated leadership by holding Iran accountable for its blatant violations of human rights, imposing financial and other restrictions on Iranian entities, and directing international attention to Iran’s continued abhorrent conduct. This includes addressing the dire situation of women and girls in Iran. Canada will continue to shine a spotlight on such violations and to call for perpetrators to be held to account.

Since the unjustified detention and subsequent killing of Jina Mahsa Amini by Iran’s so-called Morality Police in September 2022, Canada has imposed 18 rounds of sanctions against Iran under the Canada’s autonomous sanctions regime), with 200 Iranian nationals and 250 Iranian entities currently subject to sanctions under the Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA) and the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (JVCFOA). This includes recent sanctions against two individuals under the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (JVCFOA) in December 2023, in the lead up to International Human Rights Day for their complicity in the killing of Iranian-Canadian photo-journalist Zahra Kazemi. It also includes sanctions imposed in March 2024, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, against the Chief Executive of the Tehran metro system for the enforcement of the mandatory hijab law on public transit and against a senior Iranian parliamentarian who has called for “Women, Life, Freedom” movement protestors to be sentenced to death, as well as additional sanctions against the Iranian military imposed in April 2024.

Canada has also fully implemented all United Nations sanctions related to Iran. Additionally, Canada has designated the Iranian regime as a state sponsor of terrorism, and in November 2022, Canada designated Iran as a regime that has engaged in terrorism and gross and systematic human rights violations under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. This designation rendered tens of thousands of senior members of the Iranian regime, including many members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, inadmissible to Canada. With these measures, Canada’s response to the Iranian regime’s support for terror and brutal oppression of its own citizens – particularly women and girls – is among the toughest in the world.

Canada has also taken a leadership role on the international level to build international condemnation for the Iranian regime’s actions. On October 20, 2022, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister convened a meeting of women foreign ministers to ensure that global diplomatic attention remained on Iran. The meeting signaled collective international support for women and girls in Iran and put Iran on notice that the world is watching its deliberate actions to further subjugate women and girls.

Multilaterally, Canada continues to be a steadfast champion for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In December 2022, Canada worked with member states of the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council to remove Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women for the remainder of its term. This responded to the call to action by Iranian women and girls and sought to ensure that the preeminent international body on women's rights and empowerment remained credible.

Over the past two years, Canada actively participated in the discussions related to the Draft Articles on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity which took place in the context of the Sixth Committee (6C) of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). In this context and elsewhere, including the work of the United Nations Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls, Canada is closely following the ongoing discussions surrounding the concept of gender apartheid, which is not currently defined under international law.

 In the UNGA Third Committee this fall, Canada will also lead the resolution on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran for the 22^nd consecutive year. This resolution documents the regime’s poor human rights record and specifies concrete actions that Iran can take to fully respect its human rights obligations. Canada also works closely with member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council to support the mandates of the Special Rapporteur on Iran and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran. Both of these human rights mechanisms are vital to documenting the situation of human rights in Iran and identifying appropriate measures for accountability.