Conservatives express concern after Iran named to UN status of women committee

The Harper government is expressing concern that Iran has been named to a United Nations committee on the status of women.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon says he’s troubled by Iran’s record on human rights, especially the rights of women.

Cannon says Iran’s human rights record is an affront to the domestic and international obligations that all nations must respect.

He adds Canada will take advantage of Iran’s appointment to the U-N committee to go after that nation for what he calls its “systematic human rights violations.”

On several occasions in the past, Canada has taken Iran to task over human rights.

One of the most notable cases is that of Montreal photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in Tehran in 2003 following a beating she suffered while in Iranian custody.

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