Willy Brandt Lecture 2026: Human Rights at an End

But once again, the state responded with unprecedented violence: thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of people were shot dead, including many young people and even children. Before the population could even begin to come to terms with this shock, war broke out with the US and Israel at the end of February, a conflict that continues to this day. The economic and geopolitical consequences of this war are preoccupying the whole world – whilst hardly anyone is talking about the situation and future of the people in Iran.

What are human rights worth today – and who is still able, or even willing, to uphold them?

This question is at the heart of the Willy Brandt Lecture by journalist and political scientist Gilda Sahebi.

The way the Islamic Republic is dealt with illustrates how human rights are being relegated to a negligible factor by European and international politics. Initiatives and organisations campaigning for human rights are coming under pressure worldwide or losing support. At the start of the 21st century, human rights violations are structurally embedded not only in authoritarian systems, but also in democratic ones. Where the political protection of human rights ends, the responsibility to stand up for precisely these rights begins.

Following her talk, Gilda Sahebi will take part in a panel discussion with Lars Castellucci (SPD), the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid.

• Welcome and opening address: Wolfgang Thierse | Former President of the Bundestag and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt Foundation
• Willy Brandt Lecture 2026: Gilda Sahebi | Journalist and political scientist
• Panel discussion: Gilda Sahebi and Lars Castellucci (SPD) | Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid

Admission is free. Please register using the online form on the Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt Foundation’s website.

• The event will be livestreamed and will subsequently be available as a video-on-demand and as a podcast

Please note: Access via the entrance at Markgrafenstr. 38.

Willy Brandt Lecture

For the Willy Brandt Lecture, the Foundation invites outstanding figures from the worlds of politics, academia, business and culture to Berlin. In the lecture, they address topics – in the spirit of Willy Brandt – that are of central importance for understanding our history and shaping our present and future. In recent years, speakers at the Willy Brandt Lecture have included the historian Adam Tooze, the Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), Beatrice Fihn, the environmental activist Naomi Klein, the internet pioneer Jaron Lanier, and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini.