Alex Neve

We need PM Carney to come out in clear defence of international law (which has certainly not yet been the case, maybe a call to Spain's Pedro Sanchez for a pep talk would be in order). 4/4

2/ Grave and unrelenting human rights violations in Iran must be addressed (which states have disgracefully failed to take seriously for decades) without ripping up the UN Charter. 3/4

1/ The attacks are clearly illegal (none of the various, always-shifting explanations offered by Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio are lawful justifications for a state to attack another state). 2/4

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Cross-Canada early morning tour with @cbcradiocanada.bsky.social, hitting 12 stations from Labrador to Vancouver & points in between. The topic: the legality of the US/Israeli attacks against Iran.

Here's CBC Vancouver interview on the Early Edition: lnkd.in/e3Q74Yh4. 1/4

Short answer...

Iran’s oppressive regime shaped my life, and my family’s. I’m afraid of where Donald Trump’s war will lead As Canadian Iranians who advocate for justice and human rights in Iran, we should remember that the U.S. and Israel have been as harmful to civilians through their domestic and

Thoughtful & personal from dear friend & colleague
@amandaghahremani.com:

"Iranians deserve genuine change. Prioritizing perceived short-term gains for unimaginable long-term losses, such as the abandonment of international law, is a disservice to generations of Iranians to come."

A Clarion Call for Human Rights: The Chat with Alex Neve · Blog Post · 49th Shelf This week we take a look at the urgent need to renew our commitment to global human rights. We’re in conversation with Alex Neve, who gave the 2025 ...

Thank you for the conversation, @49thshelf.bsky.social.

We can (and should have, and must) defend human rights in Iran; without ripping up the UN Charter* — Alex Neve: Moving Rights Along Rather than expressing seemingly unqualified “support” for the United States (and, one assumes, Israel), this could be a powerful moment to demonstrate that the Prime Minister’s belief in the role tha...

We can be fierce champions of democracy & human rights in Iran while, at the same time, firmly rejecting unilateral & unlawful military action by one state against another. Both are, after all, grounded in the same values & the same vision for humanity. Both take us in the same direction.

Sending heaps of love and compassion to the families, the injured and all of the people of Tumbler Ridge. May you draw comfort from every corner of this country, for we are all holding you close.

‘Constant fear’: Israeli attacks on Gaza kill seven people Israeli attacks on residential building, central Gaza has killed at least seven people.

What gives, Board of Peace?

Assurer nos droits contre les dérives C’est le moment d’intégrer pleinement le système interaméricain de protection des droits de la personne.

Des arguments convaincants de la part de @bernardduhaime.bsky.social et Noémie Boivin pour que Canada s'engage pleinement dans le système interaméricain des droits de la personne. Il est grand temps de reconnaître que nous faisons partie de cet hémisphère!

Venezuela: UN Fact-Finding Mission cautiously welcomes draft Amnesty Law, urges greater transparency and public participation PANAMA / GENEVA – The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela cautiously welcomes the National Assembly’s initial approval of the draft Amnesty Law for Democratic Coexistence. But the measure must not pr...

The @uninvhrc.bsky.social's FFM on #Venezuela is watching the Amnesty Law closely. Here is our call for greater transparency & inclusivity, reiterating urgent need to release all political prisoners. Venezuela's repressive laws need to be dismantled & a comprehensive rights-based agenda instituted.

Fredericton friends. And NB friends more widely, in case you happen to be in town.

So honoured and very much looking forward to delivering this year's Lodhi Lecture in Human Rights at the Atlantic Human Rights Centre at @stthomasu.bsky.social.

This calls for a reaction way beyond muted "disappointment" and appeals for a "humanitarian" release, Minister @anitaoakvilleeast.bsky.social.

Canada should be outraged & incensed (as Canadians are), and should demand & insist that #JimmyLai be immediately & unconditionally released.

Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai jail sentence a cold-blooded attack on freedom of expression Responding to the 20-year sentence handed to Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai for ‘national security’ offences, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said:  “This sen...

That #JimmyLai was charged & then convicted was an affront to free expression. This 20 year prison sentence is disgraceful contempt for human rights. Governments around the world must decry this flagrant injustice and call for his unconditional release.

Time to close the U.S. arms export loophole* — Alex Neve: Moving Rights Along Carney has insisted that Canada must apply consistent standards and lead with its values. This is a true test of that claim. If this country is serious that our way forward must and will be "principl...

My op-ed in the Hill Times:

"If this country is serious that our way forward must and will be "principled and pragmatic" then the path we must walk is clear: close the U.S. arms export loophole."

All MPs need to get behind @jennykwan.bsky.social's Bill C-233.

Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” is anything but - CCPA Canada should stay far, far away from Trump's latest attempt to upend the world order

My article for @policyalternatives.ca on the perversity, absurdity & illegality of Donald Trump's Board of "Peace".

Opinion: Why are Canadian arms fuelling foreign conflicts? Ottawa must close a loophole in the Arms Trade Treaty that is allowing Canada’s defence exports to be used in abusive ways

Powerful from Allan Rock and Lloyd Axworthy. Makes the irrefutable case for MPs to support @jennykwan.bsky.social's Bill C-233, #NoMoreLoopholes.

US act of aggression against Venezuela further weakens rules-based order The attack was an unlawful use of force under the UN Charter

"The 3 January US attack on Venezuela was an unlawful use of force under the UN Charter... Meanwhile, the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Maduro government against the Venezuelan people remain without justice or guarantees of non-repetition, warned Amnesty International today."

Hear @alexneve.bsky.social describe the need to renew universal human rights through the lens of injustice inflicted on Hassan Diab - go to justiceforhassandiab.org

Time to close the U.S. arms export loophole Prime Minister Mark Carney talks about pragmatic principles, but Canada’s weapons exports to the United States tell a different story.

Important read from @alexneve.bsky.social in the @hilltimes.com. As we witness a "live-streamed genocide" and rising global violence, Canada continues to send military technology to the U.S. w/zero human rights oversight. It’s time to close the U.S. loophole. 1/2
www.hilltimes.com/story/2026/0...

‘It’s a farce’: families of Venezuela political prisoners still await their release Critics believe ‘drip drip’ of releases after Maduro’s dramatic seizure an attempt by regime to ‘keep the US satisfied’

All political prisoners must be released in #Venezuela. No delays. No excuses. No exceptions.

‘This is what fascism looks like’: terror in Minneapolis reminiscent of civil war Alex Pretti’s death could be a moment of reckoning for Democrats to call time on Trump waging war on his people

It is terror, fascism, murder, racism & more. An unapologetic descent into full out war on the people, community, rule of law, accountability and basic notions of rights, justice and plain human decency. We are, everywhere, with Minneapolis in resistance.

The Davos Speech: Will our principles determine our pragmatism, or will pragmatism leave principles behind? — Alex Neve: Moving Rights Along Just where are we headed with our pragmatism? We need confident reassurance that principles are indeed the lifeblood of the new order and the pragmatism is all about how to get there.

Leaving the "old order" (never the vaunted edifice it is often spun to have been) behind cannot include selling universal human rights short. The "new order" must put rights at the fore. That is not altruistic idealism, it is vital and urgent necessity.

Kingston friends!
And for that matter, Brockville, Gananoque, Napanee, Perth, Tyendinaga and beyond friends.
I'm honoured to be delivering the Catriona Gibson Memorial Lecture at @queensulaw.bsky.social on February 3, 5:30 - 7 pm.
Hope to see you there.

Deep gratitude to dear friends and treasured colleagues with the Centre for Peace at Canadian Memorial United Church in Vancouver for welcoming me to deliver one of their "Peace Talks" last night. So bolstered by the wonderful turnout and rich exchanges. Change is in our hands.

© CBC/Radio-Canada 2026. All rights reserved.

Thank you Gloria Macarenko for giving us the time we needed for this thoughtful @cbcradiocanada.bsky.social interview about human rights & peace in our world, in these agonizing times. Change is in our hands

We need leadership that will explore every avenue and take every chance towards a better world. For all of us. To reach that world universal human rights must be in the driver’s seat. Always. That’s not a wish, that’s a necessity. 4/4

As communities become more divided and more countries are ravaged by genocide, violence and repression, as the planet burns and floods, as hatemongering, narcissistic autocrats and tyrants do as they wish, the last thing we can countenance is taking the world ‘as it is’. 3/4

Some may say the PM is being realistic, pragmatic and strategic. I see lack of conviction, defeatism, short-sightedness, narrow self interest and complicity. 2/4