Ten Canadian civil society organizations issued a joint letter to the The Right Honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressing their concerns regarding the possibility of an imminent decision by the Trump administration to withdraw from the international nuclear agreement with Iran, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

OCTOBER 11, 2017

The Right Honourable Justin P.J. Trudeau, P.C., M.P.

Prime Minister of Canada

Office of the Prime Minister

80 Wellington Street

Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A2

Dear Prime Minister,

We, the undersigned NGOs, are writing to convey our concerns regarding the possibility of an imminent decision by the Trump administration to withdraw from the international nuclear agreement with Iran, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). As you are certainly aware, in recent months President Trump has expressed his intention to exit the nuclear agreement with Iran. During his confrontational speech at the United Nations General Assembly on September 19, 2017, President Trump once again signalled his intention to withdraw from the agreement and called the deal an "embarrassment" for the United States.  His statements in the UNGA regarding the nuclear agreement has been a cause for concern for other signatories to the agreement and for the people of Iran.

The JCPOA was the result of 12 years of diplomatic negotiations between the P5+1 countries and Iran. This agreement was subsequently ratified by the United Nations Security Council through the passage of Resolution 2231.

The JCPOA is considered by most knowledgeable observers as a monumental victory for international diplomacy, cooperation, and multilateralism. Since its creation, it has been endorsed by more than 90 nations as a vital path towards peace and stability in one of the most volatile regions of the globe. Many experts have gone further to posit that the JCPOA successfully averted another catastrophic conflict in the Middle East.

In strict adherence to the JCPOA, Iran has significantly limited its nuclear program and has agreed to one of the most thorough inspection regimes in history by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with the goal of assuring the international community about the peaceful nature of its nuclear program. In return, major sanctions which were imposed on Iran and which had caused significant damage to the Iranian economy and to the daily lives of Iranian people have been lifted. Since the implementation of the nuclear agreement, the IAEA has, on 8 different occasions, verified Iran’s full compliance with the provisions of the JCPOA. Furthermore, in accordance with the agreement, the IAEA will continue to inspect and monitor Iran’s nuclear program on a regular basis.

We the signatories of this letter  respectfully ask that your Government work with its European partners and make it a foreign policy priority for Canada, as a responsible member of the international community and a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), to do all that it can to prevent the United States from unilaterally withdrawing from the JCPOA, and persuade the United States Government to uphold its responsibilities as outlined in the agreement. Furthermore, we ask the Government of Canada to publicly express its firm commitment to the JCPOA, and to comply with Resolution 2231 of the United Nations Security Council, regardless of the course of action that the Trump Administration may choose to adopt.

The undersigned organizations

- Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC)

- Science for Peace

- Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)

- Peggy Mason, President of the Rideau Institute and former Canadian Ambassador for

   Disarmament to the UN

- The Group of 78

- Hamilton Coalition To Stop The War

- Canadian Voice of Women for Peace

- Independent Jewish Voices Canada

- Canadian Peace Congress