John P. Humphrey

John Humphrey was Director of the United Nations’ Human Rights Division (now called the Human Rights Centre and based in Geneva) from 1946 to 1966. In fact, this illustrious Canadian was credited with writing the first drafts of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted in 1948.

John Humphrey studied law at the Université de Paris, and was perfectly bilingual. He was named to the Ordre national du Québec and an Officer of the Order of Canada. He received honorary doctorates from 13 universities around the world. He was Vice-President, and the lone Canadian member, of the International Commission of Jurists. In 1988, he was awarded the United Nations Prize for his exceptional contributions to the cause of human rights. He wrote many articles on law and international affairs throughout his career, and authored three major works: The Inter-American System: A Canadian View, which was published in 1942, his autobiography, Human Rights and the United Nations: A Great Adventure, which was published in 1983 and translated into French in 1989 and, in the same year: No Distant Millennium: The International Law of Human Rights.

John Humphrey’s name has been associated with an impressive number of national and international associations: he was President of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in 1968, a member of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in 1970 and President of the Canadian Human Rights Foundation from 1978 to 1985. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Société québécoise de droit international and the Bureau des directeurs de la Ligue internationale des droits de l’homme. He was also a founding member of the Canadian division of Amnesty International.

John Peters Humphrey died in 1994. He was inducted into the Academy of Great Montrealers in the Social category in 1992 and was named a Commander of the Ordre de Montréal in 2016.