Along with Britain, Sweden and Ukraine, Canada six months ago called on Iran to agree to binding arbitration under a UN convention to protect aircraft from attack.

The International Coordination and Response Group for the Victims of Flight PS752 said in a joint statement Thursday that the dispute would be referred to the International Court of Justice “as soon as possible” as Iran had not granted that request.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down a Ukrainian airline flight just minutes after takeoff on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 people on board.

Among the passengers were 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents, as well as others with ties to Canada. The other victims had ties to Sweden, the UK and Ukraine.

The call for binding arbitration follows years of failed negotiations with Tehran to seek compensation and ensure those responsible are held accountable.

Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly planned to meet families of the victims of flight PS752 on Thursday to take stock of next steps in the matter.

” Time is up. “We are taking Iran to the International Court of Justice for the downing of flight PS752, as we promised to the families of the victims,” ​​she wrote on Twitter. We are getting the transparency, accountability and justice that families deserve. Impunity is not an option.”

Kourosh Doustshenas, whose fiancée died when the plane was shot down, hailed the intervention at the International Court of Justice as a step forward.

Despite Iran’s reluctance to engage in arbitration, the next trial will take place “whether they like it or not,” said Doustshenas, spokesman for the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims.