l'Hon. Irwin Cotlerhttp://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/author/63enghttp://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1365http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1365We are all, wherever we are, deeply saddened and profoundly pained at the passing of a great historical figure, Nelson Mandela – who endured 27 years in a South African prison and emerged not only to preside over the dismantling of apartheid, but, in fact, to make possible, as President, the establishment of a democratic, multiracial, free South Africa.Mandela was the embodiment of the three great struggles of the 20th century: the long march toward freedom - as he put it - the march for democracy, and the march for equality. In a word, he was the metaphor and message for the struggle for human rights and human dignity in our time.l'Hon. Irwin CotlerTue, 10 Dec 2013 11:03:00 -0500http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1277http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1277In the words of René Lévesque, “A nation is judged by how it treats its minorities.” Regrettably, linguistic minorities in Canada have often had to fight for just treatment, and that struggle continues against the backdrop of several troubling recent developments that threaten the rights of minority language communities throughout the country. Simply put, it is critical to ensure that minority language communities feel welcome and are able to thrive, and this is as true for Anglophones in Quebec as it is true for French-speakers elsewhere in Canada. l'Hon. Irwin CotlerMon, 22 Apr 2013 15:50:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1029http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/1029The Conservative’s omnibus crime bill will result, sadly, in more crime, less justice. There are six principal problems with the legislation.l'Hon. Irwin CotlerWed, 26 Oct 2011 21:30:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/901http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/901This week, Burma will hold its first election in two decades. In the last election – May, 1990 – the National League for Democracy, lead by Aung San Suu Kyi – now an honourary Canadian citizen -- won in a landslide. Rather than taking office as Prime Minister, Suu Kyi was promptly placed under house arrest where she has remained for fifteen of the last twenty years. The military junta, which had ruled the country continually since a coup d’état in 1962, continued its reign – as if an election never even occurred.l'Hon. Irwin CotlerThu, 04 Nov 2010 13:11:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/850http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/850 Ahmadinejad’s Iran – a term used to distinguish the regime from the people and publics of Iran who are themselves the targets of massive domestic repression – has emerged as a clear and present danger to international peace and security, to regional and Mid-East stability, and increasingly – and alarmingly so – to its own people.Simply put, we are witnessing in Ahmadinejad’s Iran the toxic convergence of four distinct – yet interrelated – dangers – the nuclear threat; the genocidal incitement threat; state-sponsored terrorism; and the systematic and widespread violations of the rights of the Iranian people. l'Hon. Irwin CotlerThu, 22 Jul 2010 19:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/611http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/611Keynote Address by the Honourable Irwin Cotler at the founding conference of the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (ICCA) Professor Cotler is the co-founder of ICCA with UK MP John Mann. He is the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and is the Liberal MP for the Montreal riding of Mount Royal.l'Hon. Irwin CotlerThu, 18 Jun 2009 08:30:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/618http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/618Cette année c’est la soixantième anniversaire de l’adoption de deux instruments cruciaux dans notre histoire, soit la Convention pour la prévention et la répression du crime de génocide (la « Convention sur le génocide »)—connue comme la Convention « plus jamais »—et la Déclaration universelle des droits de la personne—reconnue comme étant la « magna carta » de l’humanité...l'Hon. Irwin CotlerThu, 18 Jun 2009 06:15:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/554http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/554Tom Flanagan, the former Conservative campaign manager and university professor, went on the offensive last week arguing that anti-discrimination legislation should rightly target only government – but not private individuals’ – action. This thesis is as provocative as it is dangerous. Far from demonstrating the uselessness of the law, Mr. Flanagan’s comments instead remind us of how vital a role it plays...l'Hon. Irwin CotlerThu, 28 May 2009 06:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/456http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/456Keynote Address by the Honourable Irwin Cotler at the founding conference of the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (ICCA)Professor Cotler is the co-founder of ICCA with UK MP John Mann. He is the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and is the Liberal MP for the Montreal riding of Mount Royal...l'Hon. Irwin CotlerThu, 26 Feb 2009 11:00:00 -0500http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/278http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/278Cette année c’est la soixantième anniversaire de l’adoption de deux instruments cruciaux dans notre histoire, soit la Convention pour la prévention et la répression du crime de génocide (la « Convention sur le génocide »)—connue comme la Convention « plus jamais »—et la Déclaration universelle des droits de la personne—reconnue comme étant la « magna carta » de l’humanité...l'Hon. Irwin CotlerThu, 10 Jul 2008 15:00:00 -0400