Central European University 8d ago

What will it take to defend and rethink human rights in a fractured world? In this Presidential Lecture at Central European University (CEU), Binaifer Nowrojee, President of the Open Society Foundations, explores the future of human rights in an era marked by war, authoritarianism, inequality, climate crisis, and rapid technological change. Drawing on more than three decades of experience as a human rights lawyer, advocate, and philanthropic leader, Nowrojee argues that the future of human rights is not simply a legal or institutional question—it is fundamentally a political one. From Rwanda and Bosnia to Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and beyond, she reflects on the successes, failures, and unfinished work of the global human rights movement. The lecture examines: • Why the post-Cold War vision of inevitable progress has broken down • The limits of international law and institutions • The relationship between democracy, human rights, and political power • How AI and emerging technologies are reshaping human dignity and warfare • The importance of grassroots movements and new political coalitions • Why defending human rights requires a new moral and political imagination This event is part of CEU's 35th Anniversary Presidential Lecture Series. About the Speaker Binaifer Nowrojee is President of the Open Society Foundations, the world's largest private funder dedicated to advancing human rights, equity, and justice. An international human rights lawyer, she has spent more than three decades working across Africa, Asia, and the United States through advocacy, research, strategic litigation, and philanthropy. Previously, she served as an investigator at Human Rights Watch, documenting sexual violence during the Rwandan genocide and contributing to landmark international convictions for genocide and rape as a weapon of war. 📍 Recorded at Central European University, Vienna 🎓 CEU Presidential Lecture Series – 35th Anniversary Chapters / Timestamps 00:00 Introduction and welcome 01:00 CEU's mission, democracy, and academic freedom 04:43 CEU's move from Budapest to Vienna 06:34 Open Society Foundations and CEU's partnership 07:42 Introducing Binaifer Nowrojee 12:34 Opening remarks: Why rethink human rights? 14:20 CEU, authoritarianism, and the resilience of ideas 16:11 The optimism of the post-Cold War era 17:29 Rwanda, Bosnia, and the limits of progress 19:20 Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and today's human rights crisis 20:16 "We have to bend the arc toward justice" 21:27 The failure of universality in human rights 22:33 Why universality is not uniformity 24:18 Human rights and Western credibility 25:34 Building new global coalitions for justice 27:24 Why law alone cannot protect human rights 28:35 Lessons from Rwanda and international justice 29:42 Human rights are fundamentally political 31:27 Has civil society lost touch with people? 32:48 Human rights need a positive vision 33:35 AI, war, and the future of human dignity 35:08 The tragedy of autonomous warfare 36:24 AI's promise and dangers 38:26 Why human rights remain alive around the world 39:35 Reimagining human rights for today's reality 40:29 Returning human rights to politics 42:13 Working with states, not only against them 43:47 Expanding the circle of human rights allies 45:11 Why the Vatican can be an ally 46:05 Ideas, dignity, and the future of democracy 47:43 End of lecture and applause 48:06 Conversation and audience Q&A 50:00 Unlikely alliances and political strategy 56:33 The role of universities and academic freedom 01:01:35 Human rights, pluralism, and China 01:02:53 Protecting environmental and women's rights defenders 01:04:44 Human rights and economic inequality Central European University is an institution of advanced research and teaching, dedicated to socially and morally responsible intellectual inquiry. More from CEU: Home https://www.ceu.edu/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WeAreCEU Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/weareceu.bsky.social Instagram https://www.instagram.com/weareceu/ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/school/central-european-university Threads https://www.threads.net/@weareceu #HumanRights #BinaiferNowrojee #opensociety Subscribe for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/CentralEuropeanUniversityChannel