Iran criticizes Canada over treatment of indigenous children

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei criticized Canada over its treatment of Indigenous children in a post on his X account late on Friday. In the statement, Baghaei said the question of Canada's Indigenous children continues to weigh on the world's conscience. He described how they were taken from their families, stripped of their names, languages, cultures and identities, and subjected to a system of forced assimilation. Many suffered abuse and neglect, and many died far from home and were buried in unmarked graves, he added.

Baghaei noted that September 30 was Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which he said is apparently intended to honor residential school survivors and their families and to remember the innocent Indigenous children who never came home. He stated that reconciliation cannot be reduced to a commemorative day or political rhetoric. When serious questions remain unanswered and the history of residential schools is contested or obscured, reconciliation remains incomplete, he said.

The Iranian spokesman further said that the suffering of Indigenous children is not a culture war but a matter of historical truth and accountability. He added that questions surrounding unmarked graves deserve evidence, transparency and an honest examination of the historical record, not denial, distortion or silence. He concluded with the phrases: No reconciliation without truth. No justice without accountability.

The remarks were published by Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman on his personal X account and were carried by Mehr News Agency. According to Mehr News, the post was made late on Friday and focused on Canada's treatment of Indigenous children and the broader issue of truth and reconciliation.