Family members of those who lost loved ones in the downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 are demanding government action through protests.
Dozens of protesters have been demonstrating on the steps of the International Civil Aviation Organization since Thursday (ICAO) Office in Montreal.
Protesters are condemning the UN body’s decision to hand over the investigation of the fatal flight to the Iranian government, which is responsible for launching military missiles that killed 176 people, including 55 Canadians.
Protester Marjan Madani said, “It has never been condemned by the ICAO organization and it is our demand that we ask them to condemn this act, this crime.”
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Madani and others claim that the United Nations organization responsible for civil aviation has not held those people accountable.
“We are looking for concrete action from ICAO and we ask the government to put pressure on them. We want justice for this horrific incident.
In a written statement, a spokesperson for ICAO said they “welcome peaceful activism that can spur progress in these areas, and as a UN agency, we also welcome peaceful activism in pursuit of social justice.” We do.”
The statement said the organization has consistently urged Iran to honor its commitments as a signatory to the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
“ICAO however is not an international aviation regulator, nor does it have authority over its member states. We are therefore unable to comment on matters under national jurisdiction, or to speculate on individual states’ diplomatic positions and outcomes unable,” said William Rylant-Clark, ICAO’s communications officer.
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In December 2022, Canada, Britain, Sweden and Ukraine called on Tehran to settle the dispute over accountability and compensation for the downing of the airliner by Iranian forces through arbitration under the rules of the 1971 Montreal Convention.
All four countries as well as Iran are signatories to the convention, an international treaty that requires states to prevent and punish crimes against civil aviation.
If the countries cannot settle their dispute within six months, Iran can be taken to the International Court of Justice.
Most of the 176 people killed when Iran shot down a Ukrainian jet near Tehran in January 2020 were citizens of four countries that formed a coordination group that wanted to hold Iran accountable.
Ottawa has said that a special Canadian forensics team charged with examining all available information about the incident has found no evidence that the downing of the plane was planned in advance.
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Protesters plan to continue their peaceful protest over the weekend.
Hundreds of people are expected to join a march at McGill University planned for Sunday, marking the three-year anniversary of the tragedy.
With Reuters files
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