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AFP
 OTTAWA - Canada threatened Friday to introduce
a UN resolution on Iran's human rights record as it
called on the Islamic republic's new government to improve its human rights
record and change its position on nuclear ploriferation.
Canadian Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew urged new Iranian President Mahmood Ahmadinejad to
"usher in an era of change" to repair relations hurt by the
killing of a Canadian journalist in Tehran.
"As no real improvement in Iran's human rights conditions has
been noted to date, consultations have begun between Canada and its like-minded partners
regarding a possible new resolution on Iran's human rights situation before
the UN General Assembly in the fall of 2005," Pettigrew said in a
statement.
Earlier, Iran rejected a European Union
demand for it to abandon making nuclear fuel with possible weapons use, in
return for trade, technology and security incentives.
"Only meaningful change by President Ahmadinejad's
new government on Iran's position on human rights and
nuclear proliferation can lead to an improvement in our relationship,"
Pettigrew said, uring Iran to continue negotiations with
Europeans.
In May, Pettigrew said Canada had decided to
"constrain" its relations with Iran until Iranian authorities
handle the case of the Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi "in a serious and credible manner."
Kazemi, who was 54, died in custody in Tehran in July 2003 after being arrested
for photographing a demonstration outside a Tehran prison. Family lawyers have
accused the judiciary of a cover-up, a charge backed by Ottawa.
Iran's government has acknowledged that Kazemi was violently beaten in prison, although the
judiciary has also said she may have died after a fall.
Pettigrew on Friday also demanded the "immediate release" of Abdolfattah Soltani, a Kazemi family lawyer arrested after a court hearing on
July 25.
Canada also condemned the jailing of dissident
journalist Akbar Ganji,
the recent hanging of two teenagers and the persecution of minorities,
including members of the Baha'i faith.
"We are extremely concerned over the deterioration of the human rights
situation in Iran," Pettigrew said.
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