Ideas Massey Lecture 1: Renewing the promise of human rights
Nov 17, 2025
Alex Neve, a seasoned human rights lawyer and former Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, dives deep into the challenges facing universal human rights. He discusses the disturbing realities of refugees losing rights at borders and highlights the Rohingya crisis as a stark example of these failures. Neve passionately addresses the rising threats of disinformation and hate that erode equality. He ultimately emphasizes the importance of grassroots movements and civil society in reclaiming accountability to revive faith in human rights.
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Universality As The Central Promise
- Universal means "altogether, whole, entire" and was chosen to bind human rights to everyone, everywhere.
- Alex Neve argues universality remains the core promise but is where we most often fail.
Guatemalan Defender’s Lifeline
- Neve recounts meeting Yolanda O'Kelly, a Guatemalan defender who received global letters that sustained her work.
- Those letters made her feel she had family worldwide and reinforced the protective power of solidarity.
Rohingya Refugee’s Lifeboat
- Neve met Rohingya refugee Mohamed Salim who described drowning physically, figuratively, and socially.
- Mohamed kept a faded Universal Declaration pinned in his shelter as a symbol of hope.
