The dramatic protests in Iran last summer, the response of the Iranian authorities, and the reaction of the international community served to sharpen the focus of a study already underway by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons.
Concerned about what seemed to be the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran, the Subcommittee on International Human Rights decided to undertake a broader study into the mistreatment of the Iranian population by the governing regime, and also into the Iranian government's role regionally and internationally with respect to human rights and violations of international law. With regard to its international role, the Subcommittee is particularly concerned about the Iranian leadership's aggressive rhetoric and its role in supporting terrorist organizations, both of which are targeted against the state and people of Israel. Even more alarming is the mistrust the Iranian government has created around its nuclear program and the potentially lethal consequences if a military application of this nuclear program were to become a reality.
After holding extensive hearings on these subjects, the Subcommitee has released its report, titled Ahmadinejad's Iran: A Threat to Peace, Human Rights and International Law. It includes 24 measures that the Canadian government should adopt to "provide moral and diplomatic support to the democratic movement in Iran."
