Payam Akhavan has encountered the grim realities of contemporary genocide throughout his life and career. He argues that deceptive utopias, political cynicism, and public apathy have given rise to major human rights abuses: from the religious persecution of Iranian Bahá’ís that shaped his personal life, to the horrors of ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia, the genocide in Rwanda, and the rise of contemporary phenomena such as the Islamic State. In the context of the current pandemic, Payam Akhavan will share examples of the inspiring resilience of the human spirit in times of suffering and how embracing the reality of our inextricable interdependence can liberate us from past dogmas so we can imagine a different future. He will also reflect on how the vision of Baha’u’llah and the Baha’i teachings on the oneness of humankind have shaped his perspectives and work.

Payam Akhavan is a UN prosecutor, human rights scholar, international lawyer, professor at McGill University, Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, 2017 CBC Massey Lecturer, and author of the bestselling "In Search of a Better World". To view the video visit the YouTube channel https://youtu.be/8HJtyvvMRxI