Canadian former Justice Minister Reveals: US government gave $107 billion in contracts to firms trading with Iran, while sanctions were in place

In a Jerusalem press conference held on Tuesday, former Canadian justice minister Irwin Cotler called for more “threat specific” sanctions to be placed against Iran.

According to Prof. Cotler, Iran remains in violation of four distinct threats: the nuclear, the state-sanctioned genocidal incitement, the support for Genocidal Terror, and the massive repression of human rights.

The world has been taking action only against the nuclear threat, while ignoring the Iranian regime’s other offences.

Human rights violations in Iran attracted world attention for a short while after the disputed 2009 elections, but the outrage over Neda’s death has died down and new “Nedas” – an everyday event – are ignored.

According to Cotler’s report, Iran has the highest number of juvenile executions in the world. From 2005 until 2008, the country executed 26 offenders, making up 80 percent of total amount in the world.

“Iran has emerged as a clear and present danger to international peace and security, to the Middle East and regional stability, and increasingly and alarmingly so, to the rights of its own people,” Cotler said. “Unless we have what I call a comprehensive set of remedies and sanctions, for the four fold critical mass of threats, we will not begin to properly hold up Ahmadinejad’s Iran to account.”

The solution he offered was a 200-page report called “The Danger of a Nuclear, Genocidal and Rights-Violating Iran: The Responsibility to Prevent Petition.” Endorsed by 100 scholars, former world leaders, parliamentarians and human rights activists, the report contains witness testimony and documentary evidence of each of the four threats.

“We want to sound the alarm and wake up the international community,” Cotler said.

“The Western belief is that if we turn a blind eye, we will be better off,” said former High Court of Justice president Meir Shamgar, who also spoke at the conference. “This is exactly what occurred in the 30s.”

To fix this problem, the report proposes an 18-point road map for action. It calls upon the international community to heed their obligation and stop such violations before they begin. Incitement to Genocide is considered an early warning sign of potential Genocide, and is also a prosecutable crime in itself.

“There had been a critical mass of precursors to genocide in Ahmadinejad’s Iran, constituting thereby not only the prelude to a preventable tragedy, but a crime in and of itself under international law,” said Cotler. “Simply put, Iran’s leaders have already committed a crime of incitement to genocide.”

Additionally Cotler said violations could be prevented by limiting foreign visits from Iranian leaders and by freezing their assets.

If governments terminate their contract with companies doing business with Iran, these leaders will stop getting money in their pocket, he said. Which would help to stop the repression of the Iranian population.

However, Cotler warned that in order to succeed, countries like the US need to stop sending “mixed and disturbing messages to the corporate world regarding doing business in Iran.”

According to the report, the US government gave $107 billion in contracts to firms trading with Iran, while sanctions were in place.

“The United Nations Security Council Resolution has been honored more in the breach then in the observance,” Cotler said. “So in the matter of sanctions, not only is it crucial that they be adopted, but that they be enforced and done multilaterally.”