The Appeal of Dignity: John Peters Humphrey and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Paul Martens is an associate professor of ethics at Baylor University. This post is excerpted from an article in the December 2023 special issue of The Review of Faith & International Affairs commemorating the 75th anniversary of the UDHR.

In early 1947, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights embraced a clear mandate to draft an international “bill of rights” that would eventually become the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Seventy-five years later, this document has become rather familiar and ordinary; at the time, it was daringly revolutionary, and its adoption was vehemently contested. Few saw the revolutionary nature of the UDHR as clearly as John Peters Humphrey, the first director of the Division of Human Rights at the United Nations; even fewer had the opportunity to shape its terms and categories. The purpose of the following commentary is, therefore, to recount the unlikely contribution of Humphrey to the UDHR and, especially, its foundational affirmation of human dignity.

(more…)

Continue Reading The Appeal of Dignity: John Peters Humphrey and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

“Freedom of Religion or Belief” is Dead

Pasquale Annicchino is a senior assistant professor of law at the University of Foggia (Italy). He is a member of the OSCE/ODIHR Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief.

 How many times have we used the phrase “freedom of religion or belief”? Could it be that we have been mistaken in employing that phrase all along? The rapid pace of technological change might necessitate a reevaluation, bringing us back to the original phrasing in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”

(more…)

Continue Reading “Freedom of Religion or Belief” is Dead

Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Rights of LGBT+ Persons in Accordance with the Gospel of the UN Independent Expert on SOGI Rights

Thiago Alves Pinto is Director of Studies in Theology and Religion and a department lecturer in Legal Studies in the Department for Continuing Studies, University of Oxford.

On 7 June 2023, the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (hereinafter Independent Expert) published his highly anticipated/feared report on freedom of religion or belief, and freedom from violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It is safe to say that, given the subject, the report will not please everyone, but like most international decisions on the topic (including Eweida and Others v. The United Kingdom, Bayev and Other v. Russia, and Pavez Pavez v. Chile), the report is legally sound and in line with international human rights law standards. Unfortunately, the topic itself is considered by many as inherently “controversial,” an attitude that naturally impoverishes rational discussion on the subject. Still, while the legal arguments presented by the Independent Expert are not controversial, entrenched ideologies try to keep this debate at a stalemate.

(more…)

Continue Reading Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Rights of LGBT+ Persons in Accordance with the Gospel of the UN Independent Expert on SOGI Rights