Speaker: Payam Akhavan

Professor of international law

UN
Human rights lawyer

Lecture 1: The knowledge of suffering

 Sanctity of human dignity is at the core of our conception

 UN declaration: all are free equal in dignity and rights; act to one another in
brotherhood
 Akhavan says this is a naive aspiration: “In light of our appalling cruelty in the past, this
would seem a naïve aspiration than a logical proposition.”
 Edward Gibbon: History is little more than the record of the crimes, follies, and
misfortunes of humankind.
 Yet human rights remain at the core of our self-conception. Today, we demand justice
for the oppressed. We no longer accept atrocities as the inescapable fate of the
defenseless. We desire and expect a better future. But when confronted with the
enormity of injustice and what it demands of us, we retreat into the familiar ritual of
intellectualization and moral posturing, recycling lofty liberal sentiments from a safe
distance. We avoid the intimate knowledge of suffering without which we will never
understand the imperative of human rights.
 The problem is not the shortage of ideas. The problem is we confuse theoretical with
empathy and engagement. We say the right things because we want to feel virtuous
without paying a price.

 “We confuse proliferation of terminology with empathy”

 “There will be no meaningful change if we only look at the arena of anguish from 30 000
feet”
 Human rights are a thousand humble stories
 Sufferings are lived experiences
 “I love going on journeys only if at the end i get to go home”
 Intellectual ideas would substitute experiences, and reason rather than reflection would
discover reality by detached observation
 The cornerstone of the postwar civilization was the idea of human rights, of a being with
an intrinsically noble essence: in a secular world, it is a reminder of that which must
remain sacred.
 Iran that I (speaker) knew was filled with prosperity
 1973: Czar of Iran persuaded OPEC petroleum cartel to increase oil prices
 Petrodollars poured in
 dramatically changed living of Iranians
 profound transformation of culture
 not everybody liked Westoxication
 included in alienation in Mosque and Bazar

 · Akhavan belonged to the Baha’i minority

 Believed in democratizing spiritual knowledge free from meddling mystical middle man
 rapid spread became a threat
 branded as apostates, incited ruthless massacres
 During Akhavan’s time they were still tolerated by the monarchy

 Prime example of religious tolerance: Cyrus the great

 Cyrus cylinder (clay tablet from 539 BC)
 first declaration of HR
 called for repatriation of religions
 can worship their own gods
 influenced the US declaration of independence (studied by Thomas Jefferson who
admired it)
 Human rights only a Western idea, the unique product of European enlightenment
 Social modernization: conservatives didn’t like it; they incited mobs to attack the Bahais
 Constitutional movement
 petrol and monarchy conspiracy
 secular PM nationalized Anglo-Iranian oil company
 1953: overthrown by CIA operation ajax
 secular dem is threat to conservative clerics
 White revolution against Islam
 Exile is a longing to belong: it’s an emotional space often confused as physical space
 Transcending prejudice requires listening to those who are far into us, but it also
requires a shared humanity. Universality of human rights: we all deserve to be treated
with the same respect and dignity. In celebrating diversity, we must not become
apologists for those who abused others in the name of tradition. Should we tolerate
culture of hatred? Depends on the perpetrator.
 Religious exceptionalism: Islam does not recognize other gods, and no other legal
tradition than that of Islam
 Sharia = whatever Iran’s rulers wanted it to be. Toxic fusion of religion and populist
hatred: modern tyranny dressed in traditional clothes
 Most important Bahai principle: oneness of humankind
 Bahai view on gender and equality: source of anger for other people (Bahai believed
that men and women are equal)
 Clash civ is a convenient escape of the viceral fear of embracing others
 Hatred is the cowardly way of growing and learning
 Multi culturalism is a messy affair
 Universality of HR despite differences we deserve to be treated with the same dignity
 1983 religous exceptionalism
 represented a secular understanding that can’t be used by Muslims
 Hijacking of the divine for diabolical means (using religion to persecute others)
 Mona-outspoken defender of HR
 Freedom is the most brilliant word so why can’t I be free
 Fighting for human rights is not a choice but a must

o Interlude:
§ Q: Trump’s immigration ban: people think that they (immigrants) are
bad, they raise crime, etc., what does he (speaker) think about it?
§ A: Refugees and immigrants are different because under international
law, there is an obligation to accept refugees, and refugees are
people who are fleeing persecution, while immigrants are people who
come in search of a better future. Canada is an immigrant country:
the reason why Canada is prosperous because of immigration; the
Canada model is good for rebutting xenophobic arguments. The point
is that we have migrated throughout history, we all have migrated.
No matter how high a wall you built, if there are extremes of bombing
and persecution (like Aleppo), people will risk their lives and safety to
leave. Instead of immigration and refugees moving, we need to think
about what causes those population flows: why are people desperate
to leave? Once we address those problems, then we can control
immigration in a very rational(??) way.
§ Q: I really like what you said about being a visionary not being naïve,
but about being realistic.
§ A: It’s easy to be idealistic during discussions, but hard when you get
hurt and disappointed, but that’s when being idealistic really matters.
Despair and cynicism is easy, but you must challenge yourself, what
are you gonna do about it? The greatest power you can have is to
know yourself in a deep way, and not be satisfied with superficial
validation. Knowing yourself in a deep way is your true source of
power. That’s when you won’t be easily discouraged. Don’t be afraid
to be disappointed! That’s what will give you motivation.