Michael Ignatieff: HUMAN RIGHTS AT 75 - END TIMES OR REBIRTH?

Oliver Rathkolb in conversation with Michael Ignatieff

HUMAN RIGHTS AT 75: END TIMES OR REBIRTH? 75 Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948, is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by Representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, it set out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected.
In their talk at Bruno Kreisky Forum, Oliver Rathkolb and Michael Ignatieff will debate whether human rights have a future in a world where the international order is in tatters, violence has inflamed the Middle East, and Ukraine struggles to repel an invasion.  A rebirth of moral universalism, a commitment to the equality of peoples and nations, has never been more urgent, but is it possible?

Michael Ignatieff served as President and Rector of the Central European University between 2016 and 2021. He now is a professor in CEU’s history department. An international commentator on contemporary issues of democracy, human rights, and governance and a Canadian citizen, Ignatieff is also an award-winning writer, teacher, former politician, and historian with a deep knowledge of Central and Eastern Europe.

Oliver Rathkolb is Professor of Contemporary History at the Department of Contemporary History at the University of Vienna, and has chaired the department from 2016-22. He is Chairperson of the Academic Committee of the House of European History and Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Bruno Kreisky Forum. He has published numerous books on European and Austrian history, on the history of international relations and on cultural and economic history.