On October 4, the foreign ministers of the G7 nations, representing the world’s most advanced economies, issued a joint statement backing Iran’s protest movement. They called on the Iranian government to end its crackdown and release “unjustly detained prisoners,” including protesters, children, journalists, and human rights defenders. The statement backed the rights of Iranians to free speech, access to information, a free press, and universal human rights. “We further condemn the brutal and disproportionate use of force against peaceful protesters and children,” it said. The G7 includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. The following is their statement issued after a meeting in Berlin.
We, the G7 members, express our support for the fundamental aspiration of the people of Iran for a future where human security and their universal human rights are respected and protected. We condemn the violent death of the young Iranian woman “Jina” Mahsa Amini after her arrest by Iran’s so called “morality police.” We further condemn the brutal and disproportionate use of force against peaceful protesters and children. We urge Iranian authorities to honor their international obligations under international law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
We advocate the right of all Iranians to access information, and we deplore the Iranian government’s erosion of civil space, and independent journalism, its targeting of human rights defenders, including by shutting down the internet and social media. We urge the Iranian authorities to treat women as equal, respecting the universal rights provided to them under the relevant international human rights treaties. We also call on the Iranian authorities to release unjustly detained prisoners, including recently arrested protesters, children, journalists and human rights defenders, and ensure accountability for perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses. We will continue to use all available diplomatic measures to hold the Iranian authorities to account. We call on Iran to allow access to the country for relevant UN Human Rights Special Procedures mandate holders.
We strongly reject Iran’s practice of unfairly detaining dual and foreign citizens and call upon Iran to end the repellent practice of such unjust detentions in hopes of political gain.
We strongly support international efforts to hold Iran to account for its downing of PS752, which killed 176 innocent civilians. We demand that Iran fulfill its international legal obligations without delay.
We strongly condemn Iran’s continued destabilizing activities in and around the Middle East. These include Iran’s activities with both ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), i.e. drones, and transfers of such advanced weaponry to state and non-state actors. Such proliferation is destabilizing for the region and escalates already high tensions. We urge Iran to cease its support to violent state and non-state actors and proxy groups and fully abide by all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs), including UNSCR 2231. We also support efforts at the United Nations to hold Russia and Iran accountable for their blatant violations of UNSCR 2231.
We reiterate our clear determination that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon. The G7 will continue working together, and with other international partners, to address Iran’s nuclear escalation and insufficient cooperation with the IAEA regarding its Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) safeguards agreement. We remain deeply concerned by the unabated expansion of Iran’s nuclear program, which has no credible civilian justification. We call on Iran to change course and fulfill its legal obligations and political commitments in the field of nuclear non-proliferation without further delay. We note that despite many months of intense negotiations on a return to the JCPoA, Iran has not made the necessary decisions.