John Humphrey author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

John Peters Humphrey (1905-1995), a Canadian, (pictured here with Elenor Roosevelt)played a fundamental role in the creation and adoption of the landmark document-The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Humphrey, a Professor of law at McGill University, was called upon to set up the Division for Human Rights in the UN Secretariat, a division he remained in charge of for the next twenty years. It was during his first few years with the UN that Humphrey prepared the first draft of the Declaration and guided it to its adoption by the General Assembly in 1948. The Nobel Laureate, Rene Cassin of France also played a significant role in the initial drafting process. Subsequent drafters include Eleanor Roosevelt of the USA, Dr. Charles Malik of Lebanon and Dr. P.C. Chang of China, demonstrating that the creation of the Universal Declaration was truly an international effort. These individuals sat on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Drafting Committee which was set up by the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR).

Jurist and diplomat, Humphrey was born at Hampton, New Brunswick. He was educated at Mount Allison University and at McGill University. Called to the Quebec Bar in 1929, Humphrey practiced law in Montreal before joining McGill's Faculty of Law in 1936. He briefly served as the Faculty's dean before being appointed director of the UN Secretariat's Human Rights Division in 1946, where he was the principal drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Humphrey would remain with the United Nations for the next twenty years. John Humphrey was the representative of the UN Secretariat to the Commission on Human Rights. His position within the United Nations was Director of the Human Rights Division in the Secretariat’s Department of Social Affairs.

Humphrey was well suited to sit on the Commission. Like Cassin, he combined an extensive knowledge of international law (he was Dean of Faculty at McGill University in Canada) with avid support for the protection of human rights worldwide. At Commission meetings he served as an invaluable mediator between different philosophical factions. His most recognized contribution was the preparation of a four hundred-page blueprint for the Universal Declaration, which was consulted by the Drafting Committee during the UDHR’s formation. That draft outline contained the comprehensive information that was used to define the UDHR’s thirty articles, including a bill of rights drawn up by Humphrey, and numerous suggestions by government Delegations and non-governmental organizations.

In 1966 he returned to teaching at McGill and continued to do so well into his eighties. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 1974 and the UN's Human Rights Award in 1988. An ardent internationalist, John P. Humphrey was also a proponent of pan-Americanism. In 1942 he authored The Inter-American System: A Canadian View, in which he argued that Canada should join the Pan-American Union. He attended the 1941 Carnegie Endowment conference on Canadian-American relations held at Queen's University.