Symposium: Human Rights, Memory and Democracy at a Crossroads

A full-day symposium (Oct 16) with Keynote address by Dr. Leigh A. Payne (Oct 15) For many scholars, 2025/2026 bookmarks the end of the era of human rights and a rules-based international order that emerged in the aftermath of World War II. Since the 1990s, the concepts and goals of memory, transitional justice, democracy and human rights have been intricately interwoven. This event seeks to look back at these concepts and interventions in order to carve out pathways moving forward. October 15 4:30pm-5:00pm (Sky Classroom, B261, Fraser Building, Law Faculty): Keynote Lansdowne Lecture by Leigh A. Payne (University of Oxford) -- "The Right Against Rights in Latin America" October 16 9:30am-5:00pm (Upper Lounge, Student Union Building): Three interlocking sessions with distinct temporal or directional logic will inform our discussion on the use and usefulness of these concepts: • Session One is on Memory and Human Rights with the focus on the past looking backward • Session Two is on Human Rights and Democracy with the focus on the present under pressure • Session Three is on Democracy and Memory, facing forward, toward futures This symposim is co-sponsored by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and the Centre for Global Studies. Lansdowne Lecture co-sponsered by UVic Latin American Studies, Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, and the Centre for Global Studies.