Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  The way the system works, many individuals from the opposition would be excluded because they have to meet the qualifications that the Council of....

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes, Council of Guardians; I was thinking of elders. The Council of Guardians approves all the candidates. So typically only a few real opposition people are able to run in the election. It's also important to note that in the case of Ahmadinejad, when he won the election, it wasn't because people were supporting him for his religious and political views necessarily, but there was a lot of dissatisfaction with the prior government in terms of being able to address the basic issues of living every day in Iran.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I would add to that by stating that in the case of Amnesty, we don't take a position on sanctions except in very specific cases with regard to the sale of arms in certain contexts. In terms of the effective actions that could be done internationally, I would emphasize pursuing legal charges against individuals where there's enough evidence to suggest they are responsible for human rights violations and they could be brought to justice.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think it's important, in terms of legitimizing the international mechanisms, that Canada puts itself forward to be examined and that in this process where the examination takes place and recommendations are made Canada take action on those recommendations to improve human rights in the country.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I don't want to leave the committee with the impression that the state of women's rights in Iran is great. I was referring specifically to the fact that since the Islamic revolution, the number of women in universities, for instance, has grown; certain laws, particularly discriminatory ones, have been changed—they still remain discriminatory, but they have improved—and, I would want to emphasize particularly, women activists themselves very bravely continue to press the government and the authorities, as well as men generally, to achieve greater rights.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for having me present to the committee our concerns with regard to Iran. Before I begin, I would like to just acknowledge that a member of our parliamentary co-group, Tarek Hassan, is here. You will probably see him in the future. I just want to make sure that he's identified.