Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Says Democracy is Deterrent to a Nuclear Iran
22 January 2006 in the Los Angeles Times

“Respect for human rights and a democratic political system are the most effective deterrent against the threat that any aspiring nuclear power, including Iran, may pose to the world,” write Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi and USC Professor Muhammad Sahimi in a January 19 commentary in the Los Angeles Times.  The authors argue that, of the countries that possess nuclear weapons, those that are democracies are the least threatening to world peace and stability.  Ebadi and Sahimi cite South Africa, India and Israel as good examples of democracies with nuclear weapons and North Korea and Pakistan as examples of non-democracies with nuclear weapons.

The best method to avoid the threat of a nuclear Iran, the authors write, is to promote a democratic transition.  To achieve this transition, they call for the creation of a “special human rights monitor for Iran” at the UN. The monitor would remind the General Assembly of Iran’s human rights record annually, condemning it if the record deteriorated further and bringing world opinion to bear on Iran’s policies.  The authors also call for the strengthening of Iranian civil society and ask the West to recognize advocates for democracy.

Finally, Ebadi and Sahimi argue that “it is simply absurd for the U.S. and the most important nation in the Middle East not to communicate directly.”