Ukraine, Canada, Sweden and Great Britain demand that Iran agree to mediate the dispute with the downing of the UIA plane
Ukraine, Canada, Sweden and the United Kingdom are demanding that Iran agree to arbitration in a dispute related to the downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 on January 8, 2020, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry reports.
“We, Ministers representing Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, have taken concrete steps today to ensure that our efforts to hold Iran accountable for the unlawful downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 (Flight PS752) can proceed to the dispute resolution phase “, according to a statement from the International Coordination and Response Group for the victims of Flight PS752.
In particular, pursuant to Article 14 of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation, 1971, the Ministers requested “that Iran submit to binding arbitration in the dispute related to the downing of Flight PS752 by two surface-to-air missiles which illegally and intentionally fired by members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) air defense unit.
It emphasizes that the Coordination Group remains committed to continuing efforts to hold Iran accountable for its many violations of its international legal obligations under several treaties.
“This action is part of our broader approach to ensure transparency, justice and accountability for victims and their families,” the statement noted.
As reported, the passenger plane UIA Boeing 737-800, which was supposed to fly PS 752 on the Tehran-Kyiv route, was shot down near Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran immediately after take-off in the early morning of January 8, 2020. There were 167 passengers and nine crew members on board. They all died. Among the dead were 11 citizens of Ukraine (including nine crew members), 82 citizens of Iran, 63 citizens of Canada, 10 citizens of Sweden, four citizens of Afghanistan, three citizens of Germany and three citizens of Great Britain.
On January 11, Iranian authorities admitted that the Boeing was shot down by the Iranian military by mistake. Later, the commander of the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Amir Ali Hajizadeh said that he took full responsibility for the crash of the Ukrainian plane.