Join Alex Neve, renowned human rights advocate, former Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada — English section, and this year’s Massey Lecturer, for a timely and thought‐provoking evening at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

View image in fullscreen gallery A middle-aged man with short grey hair and glasses, wearing a white shirt and smiling warmly at the camera.

Drawing on over four decades of frontline experience, Neve explores the broken promise at the heart of the modern human rights movement: universality.

In this powerful talk, Neve examines the state of human rights in our fractured world, unpacking the challenges we face while offering pathways toward renewal, justice and accountability. He weaves together law, history and personal stories from over 45 human rights missions across Canada and abroad, inspiring urgent reflection and action.

The talk will be followed by a Q&A and book signing of his new release, Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World, a compelling call to fulfill the original promise of human rights for everyone, everywhere.

Light refreshments will be served.

View image in fullscreen gallery Cover of the book "Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World" by Alex Neve, featuring yellow and white typography and an artistic collage of multi-coloured faces.

In Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World, human rights activist and former secretary general of Amnesty International Canada Alex Neve examines the core promise of the human rights order born out of the devastation of World War II and the Holocaust: these rights extend to everyone, everywhere, at all times, without exception. But the cruel reality is that the word universal also speaks to our profound failure to keep the promise.

Too often, human rights are applied selectively, withdrawn on the whims of political leaders, or ignored altogether, and the broken promise is palpable in humanity’s darkest moments, not only in violent conflict, but also in the economic, political and social structures of our fractured world.

This is not universality’s finest hour. At a time of immense global challenges, including the climate crisis, mass atrocities and the rise of hate, the promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is deeply contested and frayed, even as people demand and embrace their rights as never before.

Weaving together law, history and stories from decades on the front lines of the struggle for human rights, Alex Neve investigates where we went wrong, how we have progressed and what we can do to fulfill the promise that human rights are inherent, inalienable and applicable to all people.