Irwin Cotler

Irwin Cotler, a professor of law at McGill University in Montreal, is the former president of the Canadian Jewish Congress. He is on the board of directors of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, an organization that supports the strengthening of human rights and democratic institutions.

Anti-Semitism is an international human rights issue, as exemplified by Holocaust denial and political rhetoric in Russia, the United States, and the Middle East. Anti-Semitism is also evident in criticisms of Israel’s human rights record, particularly by the United Nations. Legal remedies, such as bringing Nazi war criminals to justice, are necessary to fight anti-Semitism.

Editor’s note: The following viewpoint was originally a statement given to the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Security, International Organizations and Human Rights on February 8, 1994.

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