7:00 PM
Kinsella Auditorium
McCain Hall

Alex Neve will deliver the talk "Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World" as part of the 2026 Lodhi Lecture in Human Rights on February 17, 2026 at 7:00 PM in the Kinsella Auditorium. Following the lecture, there will be a book signing for his new Massey Lectures book UNIVERSAL: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World.

Our world is fractured and heaving as we face the urgency of the mounting global climate crisis, waves of hate and authoritarianism that divide and polarize, and horrifying situations of genocide and other grave human rights violations. Contempt for international law and global institutions abounds. What of the universal human rights promise? The challenges are indeed immense, and the consequences are monumental, even the very survival of our planet. Yet, there is every reason to hold onto hope. Alex Neve will offer an overview of the themes explored in his 2025 CBC Massey Lectures. Universal human rights matter more than ever and the responsibility, but also the power, to deliver that promise is in our hands 

“At a time of immense global challenges that go to the heart of how we live our lives, how we treat one another, and how we relate to the planet which is integral to our very survival, there has never been a more important time to take stock of and renew our commitment to upholding the universality of human rights in our world,” he says. “While it is easy to give in to powerlessness and despair, by turning to each other with solidarity and determination, we can ensure that the grand promise of human rights not only prevails, but soars; and does so universally.”

Alex Neve is a visiting and adjunct professor in international human rights law at the University of Ottawa and Dalhousie University, and a Senior Fellow with the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. He served as Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada from 2000 - 2020. He took part in over forty human rights research and advocacy delegations throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, Guantánamo Bay and, closer to home, First Nations communities in Canada. He has an LLB from Dalhousie University and a Master’s Degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex. He has served as a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board, taught at Osgoode Hall Law School, been affiliated with York University's Centre for Refugee Studies, and worked as a refugee lawyer in private practice and in a community legal aid clinic. Alex has been named an Officer of the Order of Canada and served as a Trudeau Foundation Mentor. He is a recipient of a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He has received three honorary Doctorate of Laws degrees. Alex is the 2025 CBC Massey Lecturer, addressing the theme of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World.