Professor Philippe Sands QC, Professor of Law, delivered the keynote speech at the 83rd PEN International Congress in Lviv, Ukraine, on 19 September 2017.
The theme of the event was ‘Reclaiming Truth in Times of Propaganda.’ In his speech, Professor Sands talked about his book East West Street, explaining the remarkable coincidences that he discovered when researching and writing the book and how the personal themes interweave with “four men, two crimes – ‘genocide’ and ‘crimes against humanity’ and the city in which we are here gathered.”
Professor Sands said:
‘No place knows more about the rights of individuals and groups than the city of Lviv. No organisation knows better than PEN the vital importance of protecting the rights of individuals and of groups. No group of individuals knows better than the members of PEN the power of the word, its ability to offer a protective embrace, for the writer, for the reader, for others.’