Irwin Cotler does not deserve nomination for Nobel Peace Prize
Irwin Cotler does not deserve nomination for Nobel Peace Prize
Why this petition matters
Honourable Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee,
According to reports published in recent days, Irwin Cotler, the former Canadian Minister of Justice and Member of Parliament, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. We, the undersigned, believe Mr. Cotler gravely fails to match any criteria to be recognized an initiator of global peace as he has repeatedly proven to take sides with the most notorious political actors instigating conflicts and prolonging instability at the international stage.
Irwin Coltler has frequently used his status to prevent both his party and the Canadian government from condemning the Israeli violations of international law as well as their constant abuse of human rights against Palestinians. In his most recent remarks he has expressed regrets at the Canadian government's statement criticizing Israel's use of force for killing over 60 protesters near the Gaza border in just one day back in May 2018. Instead of condemning Israel’s discriminatory policies against Palestinians Mr. Cotler often speaks against the UN when the international community calls on Israel to abide by international law and respect the rights of the Palestinians. In the year 2000, when Canada voted in favor of a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on Israel to respect the rights of Palestinian protesters, Irwin Cotler attacked the Canadian foreign minister, Lloyd Axworthy, as well as his own party by calling the resolution “discriminatory”.
Cotler has also been the central figure lobbying the Canadian government in 2012 to remove MEK, an infamous terrorist group, from the Canadian list of Terrorist Organizations. MEK has been responsible for the killing of thousands during the Iran-Iraq war by joining forces with Saddam Hussein. They have also been engaged in numerous assassinations that resulted in killing of over 10,000 innocent Iranians in the 1980s. They were also involved in assassination of American citizens in the 1970s.
Finally, Irwin Cotler has served on the advisory board of the "United Against Nuclear Iran", a neo-conservative lobby organization that has vigorously sought to undermine the Nuclear Agreement with Iran known as JCPOA signed in 2015 between that country and the P5+1. The agreement lifts sanctions against Iran in return for curbing the country's nuclear program and serves as one of the key multilateral non-proliferation agreements endorsed by the United Nations Security Council to promote peace and mitigate tension in the Middle East region. Yet Irwin Cotler has consistently lobbied against the agreement since its initial signing in 2015 and was part of the campaign lobbying the US Congress to vote down the agreement. Once the agreement was signed he tirelessly began to undermine it by discouraging businesses from investing in Iran, essentially pressuring the US and the Canadian government to ignore their obligations vis a vis JCPOA and forcing them to consider imposing further sanctions on Iran.
While Mr. Cotler’s work as legal counsel to prisoners of conscience is worthy of commendation, in his political career Irwin Cotler has often been bias endorsing policies that further oppressed the Palestinian people, therefore prolonging decades of palestinian plight to resist Israeli occupation. Moreover, and through his work with neo-conservative lobby groups as well as the infamous MEK and its affiliates Irwin Cotler has tried to undermine the nuclear agreement with Iran seeking to reverse attempts to reinstate peace and mitigating tension in that region. For these reasons we believe that Mr. Cotler fails to meet substantial criteria needed for recognition of a Nobel Peace Prize _________________________________________________________________
3)https://www.jpost.com/International/Pro-Israel-voices-want-MEK-off-US-terror-list
5)https://youtu.be/CCYfHEiU0Bg?fbclid=IwAR2qzz0VYU3icf6zuOnO_DyOModfKePW7aHOI1f2JeHHGKNbWmfSC_991f4
Decision Makers
Nobel Institute