John Peters Humphrey

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John Peters Humphrey

John Peters Humphrey (born April 30, 1905 in Hampton , New Brunswick , † March 14, 1995 in Montreal ) was a Canadian lawyer , professor and human rights activist .

Early life

Humphrey was born in Hampton, New Brunswick, to a Methodist family. Looking back on his life, he wrote about his childhood: "I was very religious." He later studied at Rothesay Collegiate School (now Rothesay Netherwood School), Mount Allison University in Sackville , New Brunswick, and McGill University , Montreal. He worked as a lawyer from 1929 to 1936 before becoming a professor on the Law School of McGill University.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

In 1946, Humphrey became director of the human rights division of the United Nations Secretariat . In this function he was one of the initiators of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . After deliberations of the Executive Committee, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt , Humphrey drafted the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On the night of December 10, 1948 , the General Assembly of the United Nations unanimously adopted what Eleanor Roosevelt called the "International Magna Charta of All Mankind".

Career at the United Nations

Humphrey was employed at the United Nations for a total of 20 years. During this time, he oversaw the introduction of a total of 67 international conventions and constitutions from various countries. He was mainly active in the areas of freedom of the press , women's rights and minority rights . On the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1988, Humphrey received the United Nations Human Rights Prize .

In 1963 he made the proposal to found the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights . Although the idea was initially received extremely positively, it took more than 30 years until it was finally implemented by Boutros Boutros-Ghali .

Next life

Humphrey left the United Nations in 1966 and returned to McGill University. Until his death in 1995 he was active worldwide in promoting human rights. For example, he was director of the International League for Human Rights , member of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women , co-founder of Amnesty International Canada and - together with colleagues from McGill University - helped set up the Canadian Human Rights Foundation. He was also a member of various committees of inquiry, including those investigating human rights violations of the regime of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines . In Japan he represented Korean women who were forced into prostitution. Last but not least, he campaigned for Canadian soldiers in Japanese captivity.

Honors

In addition to many honors, Humphrey was named Officer of the Order of Canada in 1974 "in recognition of his contributions to the development of law and his globally recognized work in the field of human rights".

The John Peters Humphrey Model United Nations is held each May in Fredericton , New Brunswick.

Since 1988 McGill University has held the John P. Humphrey Lectureship in Human Rights , a lecture series on the role of international law and international organizations in international human rights protection.

The John Humphrey Freedom Award was presented to organizations and individuals until 2012 for exceptional achievements in the advancement of human rights and the development of democracy.

In June 2008, a memorial was dedicated in his honor in Humphrey's hometown. It is located in the immediate vicinity of his parents' house, in the front yard of the courthouse in the city center.

literature

  • John P. Humphrey: Human Rights and the United Nations: A Great Adventure . New York: Transnational Publishers 1984, ISBN 0-941320-14-6 (autobiography)
  • AJ Hobbins (Ed.): On the Edge of Greatness: the Diaries of John Humphrey, First Director of the United Nations Division of Human Rights . 4 volumes. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press 1995-2001, ISBN 0-7735-1458-9 , ISBN 0-7735-1456-2 , ISBN 0-7735-1454-6 , ISBN 0-7735-1383-3 .
  • AJ Hobbins / A. Steward: Humphrey and the quest for compensation: Individual claims against States and the creation of new international law . In: Canadian Yearbook of International Law 2003 . Vol. XLI (2004), ISSN  0069-0058 , pp. 187-223.
  • AJ Hobbins: Humphrey and the High Commissioner: The Genesis of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights . In: Journal of the History of International Law . Vol. III (2001), ISSN  1388-199X , pp. 38-74
  • AJ Hobbins: Mentor and Protégé: Percy Corbett's relationship with John Peters Humphrey . In: Canadian Yearbook of International Law 1999 . Vol. XXXVII (2000), ISSN  0069-0058 , pp. 3-56.
  • AJ Hobbins / D. Boyer: Seeking Historical Truth: the International Commission of Inquiry into the 1932-33 Famine in Ukraine . In: Dalhousie Law Journal . Vol. XXIV (2002), ISSN  0317-1663 , pp. 139-191.
  • J. King / AJ Hobbins: Hammarskjöld and Human Rights: the Deflation of the UN Human Rights Program, 1953-1961 . In Journal of the History of International Law . Vol. V (2003), ISSN  1388-199X , pp. 337-386.
  • Erin C. Roth: John Peters Humphrey: Canadian Nationalist and World Government Advocate, in: The Canadian Yearbook of International Law 2007. pp. 305–346.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Clinton Timothy Curle, Humanité: John Humphrey's Alternative Account of Human Rights. Toronto 2007. p. 39.
  2. ^ Clinton Timothy Curle, Humanité: John Humphrey's Alternative Account of Human Rights. Toronto 2007. p. 39.
  3. ↑ McGill.CA, Center for Human Rights & Legal Pluralism - Lecture series in human rights
personal data
SURNAME Humphrey, John Peters
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Humphrey, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian lawyer and human rights activist
DATE OF BIRTH April 30, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Hampton , New Brunswick
DATE OF DEATH March 14, 1995
Place of death Montreal