International lawyer Philippe Sands QC gives a moving account of the origins of the human rights movement, told through the lens of his own family history, in a thought-provoking and deeply affecting discussion of his award-winning memoir East West Street: On the Origins of ‘Genocide’ and ‘Crimes against Humanity’.

In his talk, Professor Sands poses the question confronted by the two key protagonists - Hersch Lauterpacht and Rafael Lemkin - who battled to ensure that the concepts of 'genocide' and 'crimes against humanity' became cornerstones of international law: “How can the law operate to throw a protective embrace over those at risk of serious harm?”