OTTAWA

December 12, 2003

Rt. Hon. Paul Martin, Prime Minister
309-S Centre Block
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

Dear Prime Minister,

As you are aware, Canada recently sponsored a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly's Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural) calling upon the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to abide by its obligations under the International Covenants on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments, including those relating to freedom of opinion and expression.

The Committee, whose membership is comprised of all General Assembly members, adopted the resolution that refers to:

"…the continued deterioration of the situation with regard to freedom of opinion and expression, especially the increased persecution for the peaceful expression of political views, including arrest, detention without charge or trial; crackdowns by judiciary and security forces against journalists, parliamentarians, students, clerics and academics; and the harsh reactions to student demonstrations, including the imprisonment, mistreatment and use of university disciplinary committees against those who participate."

We support the Government of Canada's efforts at the Third Committee, and we hope that under your administration, Canada will continue to defend human rights in Iran and around the globe.

In introducing the resolution, Canadian Deputy Ambassador Gilbert Laurin noted that Canada has engaged in dialogue with Iran on human rights over the past two years, but that the results of that process have been "limited." Laurin also pointed to the recent murder of Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi while in police custody, and the arrest of 4,000 demonstrators in Tehran last June, as evidence that basic civil liberties remain unavailable to Iranians. In fact, peaceful, democratic, political opposition to the ruling regime in Iran is punishable by arrest, torture, disappearance, and execution.

Yet despite the threat to their lives, Iranians in their thousands persist in publicly calling for democratic freedoms - for the fundamental right to choose their own government. Since 1999, an increasingly common rallying cry at protests in Iran has been "Referendum!" and it refers to a growing movement amongst Iranians domestically and internationally to pressure the regime to agree to a national referendum on its legitimacy. This referendum would necessarily require independent monitoring by an international organization such as the United Nations to ensure its validity and success as a democratic instrument.

Increasingly, Canadians are also supporting this call for a referendum on governance in Iran. The federal New Democratic Party adds its voice in support of such a referendum. Canada must stand in solidarity with those who so courageously resist the repression of the Iranian regime. We therefore urge you to build upon Canada's efforts last month at the UN, and demonstrate our support for the protection of human rights worldwide, by adding the full weight of the Canadian government to the international call for a free and open referendum on the rule of the regime in Iran.

We look forward to your earliest possible reply on this important matter.

Sincerely,

Jack Layton, Leader, New Democratic Party

Bill Blaikie, MP Winnipeg-Transcona
Joe Comartin, MP Windsor-St. Clair
Libby Davies, MP Vancouver East
Bev Desjarlais, MP Churchill
Yvon Godin, MP Acadie-Bathurst
Wendy Lill, MP Dartmouth
Pat Martin, MP Winnipeg Centre
Brian Masse, MP Windsor West
Alexa McDonough, MP Halifax
Hon. Lorne Nystrom, MP Regina-Qu'Appelle
Dick Proctor, MP Palliser
Svend Robinson, MP Burnaby-Douglas
Peter Stoffer, MP Sackville-Musquodoboit Valley-Eastern Shore
Judy Wasylycia-Leis, MP Winnipeg North Centre