The Virus and Human Rights? Put Your Questions to Alex Neve of Amnesty International

The next in-depth video interview by the Salt Spring Forum to be published on The Tyee will be with Alex Neve, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada’s English branch. Neve will be discussing how COVID-19 is affecting human rights in Canada and around the world. Moderating will be B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge.

Tyee readers are invited to submit questions for Neve beforehand. Join the discussion by sending your queries no later than 6 p.m. on April 29 to: [email protected]. Please include your name with your question.

Neve has been in his position with Amnesty International since 2000 and has carried out many human rights research missions around the world and in Canada. He practiced law in Ottawa with a focus on refugee and immigration law and has taught international human rights and refugee law, as well as authoring numerous reports and papers for Amnesty International, parliamentary committees, and UN human rights bodies. He has been appointed an officer of the Order of Canada, and is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee medal.

In short, he is the ideal person to provide insights on how the pandemic is eroding human rights, and how to resist.

Global leaders are keying off the emergency to lock down communities, activate emergency acts and use technology to acquire data on individuals.

At the same time COVID-19 poses a greater threat to those marginalized — the homeless, those without running water, ethnic communities, prisoners in close confined lockdown, residents and workers of care facilities, people living with disabilities without their regular care, those forced to stay at home with abusive partners, and more.

Refugee and immigration claims have been put on hold and workers are pressed to forfeit safety or lose their pay cheques.

The finished video interview with Neve will be available from May 3 here and will be published on The Tyee Monday, May 4.

This will be the fourth video interview partnership between Salt Spring Forum and The Tyee.

The first instalment was a conversation with physician and author Kevin Patterson that prepared us for the crisis we find ourselves in now. Find it here.

The second shared the insights of author Timothy Brook, a professor of history at UBC and one of the West’s foremost scholars of the social and cultural history of China. Brook examined China’s experiences with epidemics past and present, and how the current regime has responded. Find it here.

The third featured author and climate activist Bill McKibben. Watch that interview here.

For years, the Salt Spring Forum has brought fascinating speakers and audiences together on the island off the coast of B.C. Now, along with the rest of us, the group has had to reconfigure their programs since gathering in person is considered a public health hazard.

Rather than cancelling altogether, forum organizers are filming the discussions and distributing them online. Please note: The Forum receives no revenue from these video-events, but does incur costs.

If you would like to assist Salt Spring Forum with a tax-deductible donation, please visit here.