Acknowledge history of genocide and commit to reconciliation, says human rights advocate [video]

The longtime head of Amnesty International Canada called for a renewed commitment to universal human rights during a speech in Fredericton this week.

“It is time to fully and completely give human rights their turn,” Alex Neve told a crowd at St. Thomas University on Tuesday evening.

“To do so means we have to begin by getting our own house in order, above all by acknowledging our history of genocide of Indigenous peoples in Canada and committing to genuine reconciliation. It certainly means ending blatant double standards in our human rights diplomacy, such as our divergent and imbalanced approach over the decades to the Israel-Palestine conflict, and our total silence these days, no matter how low Donald Trump goes, with his dismantling of the global human rights regime.”

He made the remarks during this year’s Lodhi Memorial Lecture in Human Rights, presented by the Atlantic Human Rights Centre. Neve served as secretary general of Amnesty International between 2000 and 2020, and he is currently a member of the UN Human Rights Council’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela.

This video report includes reactions from people in the audience, followed by uncut footage of the lecture, including a question-and-answer session.

This segment was hosted by NB Media Co-op intern Anna-Leah Simon. Production and editing by Local Journalism Initiative reporter David Gordon Koch, with support from NB Media Co-op volunteers Ryan Hiller and Susan O’Donnell. It was made possible in part with support from the Madhu Verma Migrant Justice Centre.