The Honorable Irwin Cotler is Emeritus Professor of Law at McGill University, Founder and International Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and longtime parliamentarian. He is a member of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom, Canada’s Special Envoy for Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism and member of the Organization of American States (OAS) Expert Legal Panel on Venezuela.
He is an international human rights lawyer, counsel to political prisoners and has been referred to as “Counsel for the Oppressed” and “Freedoms Counsel.” He is an officer of the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest civilian honor, an an Officer of the National Order of Quebec, Quebec’s highest honor, a Member of the Privy Council of Canada, and Avocat emeritus of the Quebec Bar.
