Canadian Museum for Human Rights Nakba Exhibit Should be Supported

The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture

December 1, 2025

Dear Minister Miller,

I write regarding the Canadian Museum for Human Rights’ plans to launch a new exhibit in 2026, Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present. I would not ordinarily write to a government minister about a museum’s curatorial plans, but I feel compelled to share my views as to why this exhibit is so timely and commendable, and urge that you refrain from acting on demands from critics who seek to undermine, derail and, ultimately, shut it down.To the contrary, this exhibit is much needed, and I encourage you to ensure that the museum is able to proceed undisturbed with its plans.

I have decades of experience researching, advocating and teaching with respect to universal human rights as a civil society leader, lawyer and academic. That includes serving as Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada between 2000 and 2020. Currently, I am a professor of international human rights law at the University of Ottawa and Dalhousie University, and I recently delivered the 2025 CBC Massey Lectures across the country, on the theme of Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World.

In all aspects of that work, I have seen how crucial initiatives are that seek to broaden understanding of human rights issues, particularly with respect to communities and peoples who are left out of the universal human rights promise. Greater awareness and consistent adherence to core principles are, of course, foundational to strengthened respect for human rights. Among the many peoples whose rights have been excluded from the global human rights conversation, the extent to which that has been the case for Palestinians has been glaring and inexcusable. There is always a “but”, “not now”, “what about”, “only if”, or “but you didn’t mention” that follows any suggestion that greater attention be given to acknowledging, let alone upholding, the rights of Palestinians.

Such attitudes barely disguise a double standard and underlying racist sentiment that the rights of Palestinians matter less or, more starkly, that their rights do not matter at all. That is once again the case with the groups and individuals decrying the museum’s plans for this exhibit. We see and hear that in the petitions, letters, social media posts and statements criticizing the exhibit even before it has been launched or its content made public.

It is no great revelation that the international rules-based order, much of which flows from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is unravelling. As such there is widespread public despair and cynicism, understandably. But people everywhere are also holding onto hope and conviction. I heard that repeatedly in rich and meaningful conversations with audiences in all corners of the country while delivering the Massey Lectures.

The museum’s plans for this exhibit resonate with what I have heard; notably, a desire, in fact an insistence, that we talk more, not less, about human rights, certainly including when it is uncomfortable to do so.  People are clear that there can be no more silence, we must challenge ourselves to speak up and speak out, and speak to each other about our shared human rights. They are demanding that we truly commit to universality.

Is the context of this exhibit sensitive and contentious? Of course it is; though that is largely of our own making. Are there other interwoven human rights concerns, such as the rights and safety of Israelis, Palestinian human rights challenges beyond the Nakba, antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism (including in Canada), and grave human rights violations and abuses emanating from other actors in the region? Absolutely, there always are; but that is no reason to shut down exploration of a crucial human rights concern that has long been ignored.

Will the exhibit be criticized by some? Certainly. But equally, will it be welcomed by many? Without a doubt, and they will say: at long last. For it will open space for a vital human rights conversation that we consistently silence and step away from: how can we better acknowledge, understand and support the human rights struggle of the Palestinian people. What institution could be better situated to steer that conversation in a thoughtful and careful way than a museum for human rights? 

I am confident that the museum’s expert staff are putting meticulous thought into decisions about how to tell the stories, likely in very personal ways, about the human rights realities that Palestinians have endured over the many decades of the Nakba. I applaud them for doing so, and I look forward to an opportunity to visit the exhibit, and to learn. For it is only through learning, and the deeper understanding that follows, that we will move forward with a full embrace of universal human rights and ensure that the embrace extends to Palestinians.

Sincerely,

Alex Neve, O.C., LLD (Hon.), LLM

Visiting and Adjunct Professor, Faculties of Law and Social Sciences, University of Ottawa and Dalhousie University

Senior Fellow, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa

2025 CBC Massey Lecturer