Alex Neve

Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

In a world marked by conflict, inequality, climate crisis, and rising polarization, the promise of human rights can feel distant and sometimes impossible. But for Alex Neve, that promise is not an outdated ideal; it is a call to action that still matters deeply, and urgently.

A lawyer, educator, and internationally respected human rights advocate, Neve has spent more than three decades working to protect humanity’s most basic freedoms. He served as Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada from 2000-20, leading or participating in more than 40 research and advocacy missions worldwide - from Indigenous communities in Canada to Guantanamo Bay and beyond.

Neve’s work has shaped national and international debates on refugee protection, Indigenous rights, gender equality, corporate accountability, climate justice, and the rule of the law. He has taught international human rights law as a professor, served on Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board, and regularly appears before parliamentary committees and UN bodies.

An Officer of the Order of Canada and recipient of multiple honorary doctorates, Neve was selected as the CBC Massey Lecturer in 2025, exploring why human rights matter more than ever and how we have fallen short of that promise. His book ‘Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World’ (House of Anansi Press Inc, 2025) explores how we can fulfil the promise that human rights are inherent.

Please join the Salt Spring Forum and Alex Neve as we explore the question at the heart of Neve’s work: if human rights are universal, how do we make them real for everyone, everywhere?