Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

On 19 December 2013 it was announced that the AJCs Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights  on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released a unique volume entitled: “The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Conscience for the World”.[Twenty years ago the UN General Assembly established the position of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a position that the Jacob Blaustein Institute for Human Rights (JBI) advocated for.] A collection of analytic essays examining the challenges faced by the six persons who have served as High Commissioner to date, it is the first comprehensive examination of the history and impact of the High Commissioner’s Office and the prospects for its future role in reinforcing and safeguarding global human rights standards. In a statement delivered at the UN last week, High Commissioner Navi Pillay praised JBI for its “crucial role in the creation of the High Commissioners office” and said that the book  will be “extremely helpful” to her and her team . The 400-page volume was edited by JBI Director Felice Gaer and Associate Director Christen Broecker. The 20 contributors to the book, published by Martinus Nijhoff as part of the Nottingham Studies on Human Rights series, are leading experts on human rights. They include present and former UN policymakers, human rights practitioners, legal scholars and current High Commissioner Pillay.

via AJCs Jacob Blaustein Institute for Human Rights Publishes Ground-breaking Volume on UN High Commissioner – PR Newswire – The Sacramento Bee.

This entry was posted on December 21, 2013 at 17:32 and is filed under books, human rights, OHCHR, UN.

Tags: Advancement of Human Rights, American Jewish Committee, Felice Gaer, High Commissioner, High Commissioner for Human Rights, human rights violations, Israel, Jacob Blaustein Institute, Jacob Blaustein Institute for Human Rights, Martinus Nijhoff, Navi Pillay, New York, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations