On the morning of 8 January 2020, Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 was shot down near Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran, by an Iranian air defense surface-to-air missile system. As a result of this tragedy, 176 people lost their lives – citizens and residents of Ukraine, Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan, and Iran. Today, we honor the memory of all those who perished and extend our condolences to their families and loved ones.

For six years, the International Coordination and Response Group for the victims of Flight PS752, consisting of Ukraine, Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, has continued to take consistent steps to ensure transparency, justice, and responsibility of Iran for the downing of Flight PS752.

In March 2025, the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rejected Iran’s preliminary objections and confirmed its jurisdiction to consider the case under the Convention on International Civil Aviation of 1944 (the Chicago Convention). Within the appellate proceedings initiated by Iran before the International Court of Justice, the Coordination Group is actively working to prevent Iran from evading international legal responsibility for this crime.

In parallel, the Coordination Group is participating in separate proceedings before the International Court of Justice concerning Iran’s violations of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation of 1971 (the Montreal Convention). The Group will continue to make every effort to establish the unlawfulness of Iran’s actions and to secure appropriate reparation for them.

We are convinced that impunity for grave violations of international law, including international air law, undermines confidence in the international security system and creates preconditions for the repetition of similar crimes. Iran’s international legal responsibility for the downing of Flight PS752 is of fundamental importance not only for the families of the victims, but also for the entire international community.

We call for international support for efforts aimed at ensuring justice for all victims of violations of international law, as well as for ensuring international legal responsibility of states that commit such violations.

Our thoughts today are with the families of the 176 lives lost in the skies over Tehran on 8 January 2020.