Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian opposition leader, author, historian, filmmaker, and survivor of two poisoning attempts and harsh imprisonment, presented the 2025 Defender of Freedom Award to Irwin Cotler at the 17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2025.
Full Prepared Remarks:
Executive Director Neuer, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear friends,
A few years ago, I stood on this same stage here at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights to accept an award. It was a great honour, of course – but sometimes it is a greater honour to present one, and this is such a moment for me.
If I had to condense the long and distinguished life story of Irwin Cotler into just one phrase, it would be the title of this prize: a Defender of Freedom.
As a jurist and as an academic; as a Member of Parliament and as Attorney-General; as counsellor for prisoners of conscience the world over, from Natan Sharansky to Nelson Mandela, from Saad Eddin Ibrahim to Leopoldo López, from Liu Xiaobo to Raif Badawi, Professor Cotler has stood up for freedom, justice, and human dignity for more than six decades.
I knew of the legend that is Irwin Cotler long before I have met him in person. The best possible introduction came from three of my great compatriots with whom Professor Cotler had worked at different times and in different capacities: Andrei Sakharov, Natan Sharansky, and Boris Nemtsov. And so to say that I was star-struck when I first met Irwin in person is to say nothing.
I have had the privilege of knowing Irwin Cotler for more than a decade. During this time, we have worked together on many issues – from imposing Magnitsky sanctions on human rights abusers to enacting street designations in honour of Boris Nemtsov to advocating on behalf of political prisoners. And when I became a political prisoner myself, it meant the world to me that among the most ardent advocates for my liberation was Professor Irwin Cotler.
It is often said that we live in a cynical age, in an age of expediency and realpolitik. But Irwin’s whole life shows that there is still room for principle in international politics. And that is a cause for both celebration and gratitude.
It is my distinct honour to present, on behalf of an international coalition of human rights groups that co-sponsor the Geneva Summit, the 2025 Defender of Freedom award to Professor Irwin Cotler. I would like to invite his colleague, my friend, and an indefatigable democracy campaigner in his own right, Brandon Silver, to please come forward and receive the award on Professor Cotler’s behalf.
