When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives in New York to address the UN General Assembly, a man who should be in the docket of the accused will instead be given an international podium -- a cruel parody of law and justice that will put us on the wrong side of
history.
Ahmadinejad will enter the U.S. despite being inadmissible under American law. He will address the United Nations General Assembly despite being in violation of its UN Charter and international law. And, he will be indulged by universities, institutes, and the media, thereby sanitizing his crimes and mocking the suffering of the Iranian people.
Let there be no mistake about it: A person who pursues the most destructive of weaponry in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions, who incites to genocide, who is complicit in crimes
against humanity, who is engaged in a massive repression of the human rights of his own citizens, who assaults the basic tenants of the UN Charter -- such a person should be indicted by this international body; rather than have it provide a pulpit.
Simply put, this charade -- repeated annually since 2007 -- ignores and undermines basic principles of domestic, international, and humanitarian law.
Indeed, President Ahmadinejad belongs on the U.S. "Watchlist" -- those who "aid terrorists ... persecute religious minorities ... or commit or incite to genocide" are prohibited from entering the United States. The evidence of Ahmadinejad's criminality on each of these counts is
compelling.
In the matter of aiding terrorists, the U.S. State Department has once again named Iran as the leading state sponsor of international terrorism. In particular, Ahmadinejad's Iran recruits, trains, finances, instigates and arms its terrorist proxies, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, whose platforms and policies are themselves replete with genocidal calls for the destruction of Israel. Indeed, Iran and Hezbollah have their footprints not only in the recent attack on Israelis in Bulgaria, but in terrorist attacks spanning five continents in 2012 alone.
Moreover, Iran is complicit in the international criminality of Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime. This criminal support includes sending military equipment, munitions, and surveillance technology -- involving also Iranian al-Quds special forces -- all to help sustain the brutality of the Assad regime.
In the matter of religious persecution, one need only recall Iran's massive domestic repression, particularly targeting religious minorities, especially the Baha'i -- Iran's largest such group -- whose members are subject to harassment, repression, torture, imprisonment, and execution. Women, students, workers, dissidents, journalists, and academics -- and those who would defend them -- are also routinely persecuted. Moreover, Iran leads the world in per capita executions and the execution of minors, as well as in the imprisonment of journalists and bloggers.
In the matter of incitement to genocide, the evidence here is particularly compelling and disturbing, as Ahmadinejad's genocidal incitement is the terrifying and vilifying context for Iran's illegal pursuit of nuclear weapons. Last month alone, President Ahmadinejad called to "remove the Zionist black stain from the human society," adding that "the very existence of Israel is an insult to humankind and an affront to all world nations," and requiring the wiping out of this "scarlet letter from the... forehead of humanity."
Indeed, this state-sanctioned culture of hate and incitement to genocide has been persistent, pervasive, and pernicious. The 21st century began with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei calling for "the annihilation of the Jewish State." It was followed by the parading in the streets of Tehran of a Shihab-3 missile draped in the emblem "Wipe Israel off the map, as the Imam says." It has continued with the use of epidemiological metaphors referring to Jews as "filthy
bacteria," and Israel as "a cancer that must be removed," reminiscent of the Nazis calling the Jews "vermin" and the Rwandan Hutus calling the Tutsis "cockroaches," the whole as prologue to and justification for a genocide foretold.
Instead of being granted a podium at the UN General Assembly, Ahmadinejad should be the object of a criminal indictment. Simply put, a person who has already committed the crime of "direct and public incitement to genocide" in violation of international law -- punishable whether or not a genocide has occurred -- who is complicit in crimes against humanity both at home and abroad has no place at the UN, let alone at its most distinguished podium. Indeed, how can a UN forum host one who openly and avowedly seeks the destruction of a Member
State? As UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon himself said recently in Tehran, "I strongly reject threats by any member state to destroy another or outrageous attempts to deny historical facts, such as the Holocaust" -- yet, Ahmadinejad continues to call for the destruction of Israel while denying also the Holocaust.
Despite the clear and compelling evidence of Ahmadinejad's inadmissibility to the U.S. under both domestic and international law, he is likely to return to the UN because of the 1947 "Headquarters Agreement" -- a UN treaty wherein the U.S. agreed not to impede access of representatives of Member States to the UN Headquarters in New York. While this agreement is said to trump American domestic law, the fact is that the Vienna Law of Treaties affirms that jus cogens -- the preemptory norms of international law, such as incitement to genocide and crimes against humanity -- override any treaty. Ahmadinejad's crimes are such jus cogens crimes. The Headquarters Agreement should not avail and must not prevail.
Moreover, Article 99 of the UN Charter grants the Secretary-General the power to refer issues that "threaten the maintenance of international peace and security" to the United Nations Security Council. This can -- and should -- be done, as surely there is no greater threat to international peace and security today than Ahmadinejad's Iran. Member states should call on the Secretary General to take proactive measures to ensure the UN does not provide a forum to one who callously and deliberately defies, mocks, and violates the principles and decisions of the UN and its respective agencies, its Charter, and American law itself.
If the U.S. nonetheless allows him entry, Ahmadinejad's travel should be restricted to only those parts of New York under UN authority, the Iranian Mission, and the airport. The U.S. government is not obliged to treat him as an innocent tourist; rather, it should isolate and shun him as the war criminal he is.
Even if none of these options is exercised, there are ways to break this cycle of impunity and hold the Iranian leadership to account for its crimes. The international community should act in solidarity with the oppressed people of Iran by providing neither shield nor platform for their oppressors. Countries should fulfill their responsibilities under international law -- including the Genocide Convention -- and refer the Iranian leaders' criminal incitement to genocide to appropriate UN agencies for investigation and sanction. It is astonishing that this criminal incitement has yet to be addressed by any UN body, though the UN finds it fit to give Ahmadinejad a podium next week.
Moreover, Inter-state complaints against Iran could be initiated at the International Court of Justice, while the Iranian leadership could be made to answer for its crimes at the International Criminal Court. Similarly, President Ahmadinejad and other Iranian leaders should be placed on a "watchlist" by concerned countries, preventing their entrance as "inadmissible persons."
Finally, enhanced comprehensive, consequential, and targeted multilateral sanctions must be adopted, and enforced, not only for Iran's continued pursuit of nuclear weapons, but also for its sponsorship of international terrorism and massive violations of human rights.
History shows that sustained international juridical efforts can bring dictators like Milosevic and Pinochet to justice. Ahmadinejad must be held to account for his criminality, not rewarded for it. Our choice is clear: We can either act or be on the wrong side of history.
Irwin Cotler is a Canadian Member of Parliament and is the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. He is a Professor of Law (Emeritus) at McGill University and has written extensively on Iran and has previously prosecuted for incitement to genocide.