John Peters Humphrey

Activist and legal scholar

• Born: April 30, 1905
• Birthplace: Hampton, New Brunswick, Canada
• Died: March 14, 1995
• Place of death: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Significance: John Peters Humphrey directed the Human Rights Division of the United Nations (UN) from 1946 to 1966. He played a pivotal role in the creation of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The declaration is considered one of the UN’s most important achievements. In addition, Humphrey was a teacher at McGill University. He retired in 1994.

Background

John Peters Humphrey was born to Frank Humphrey and Nellie Peters on April 30, 1905, in Hampton, New Brunswick. As a child, Humphrey lost both his parents to cancer. He also had his arm amputated after being burned. Both situations contributed to Humphrey being bullied by his classmates at boarding school. When he was fifteen, he attended Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. He left Mount Allison, however, and moved to Montreal to attend McGill University’s School of Commerce. He graduated in 1925 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree and then enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts program, due to a newfound passion for law and politics. He received additional bachelors’ degrees in arts and law in 1927 and 1929, respectively.

Upon graduating, he received a fellowship to study in Paris. He met his first wife, Jeanne Godreau, on the ship transporting him to France. The two were married shortly after they arrived in the country. When Humphrey returned to Montreal, he taught at McGill University while studying for a master’s degree in international law. He also became involved in the city’s art community. At the same time, Humphrey met Henri Laugier, a refugee from France who had escaped prior to the Nazi invasion. In 1943, when North Africa was liberated, Laugier left Canada to teach at the University of Algiers. Following the war, he became the assistant secretary general of the UN. Laugier, who had always been impressed by Humphrey’s intellect, offered him the position of director of the UN Human Rights Division in 1946. As director, one of Humphrey’s duties was to create an International Bill of Rights that listed basic human rights that applied to all countries.

Life’s Work

The creation of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights is considered Humphrey’s greatest accomplishment. The need for an international human rights document was established following the atrocities that occurred during World War II. Former first lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt, chaired the commission. A first draft of the declaration was completed in June 1947 and revisions were made the following year. Although the declaration faced opposition, it was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948. Humphrey, however, was disappointed because the declaration was not unanimously approved. Multiple nations cast no votes or abstained from voting entirely. According to Humphrey, the declaration was necessary because of the “fundamental link” between human rights and peace.

Humphrey directed the division until 1966, when he returned to McGill University as a professor of law and political science. He taught full-time until the 1970s and then continued teaching part-time until 1994. Though no longer a part of the Human Rights Division, Humphrey continued to investigate human rights abuses and consult with various organizations, including the Canadian Council on Human Rights. Among his findings, Humphrey helped win monetary compensation for Canadian prisoners of war held by the Japanese after the Battle of Hong Kong. He also represented Korean women who had been enslaved during World War II.

Impact

Humphrey founded the Human Rights Education Foundation, which eventually became the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights. He also served as director of the International League of Human Rights and as a member of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women. In 1974, Humphrey was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1988, he was awarded the United Nations Prize for his work with human rights. The New Brunswick Human Rights Commission committed itself to honoring Humphrey by continuing to provide knowledge and training to individuals so that a culture of human rights could be promoted throughout the province.

Personal Life

John Peters Murphy died on March 14, 1995, and is buried in Hampton, New Brunswick. He was married to his first wife, Jeanne Godreau, for fifty-one years. She died in 1980. Two years later, he married Margaret Kunstler, a Montreal physician. A bronze statue of Murphy stands outside the town hall in Hampton. A memorial plaque honoring him is also in Ottawa. At the unveiling of the plaque, Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa, referred to Humphrey as the “father of the modern human rights system.”

Bibliography

“John Peters Humphrey.” The Humphrey Hampton Foundation, www.humphreyhampton.org/john-peters-humphrey. Accessed 28 June 2023.

“John Peters Humphrey.” My New Brunswick, mynewbrunswick.ca/john-peters-humphrey/. Accessed 28 June 2023.

“John Peters Humphrey: Main Author of the Universal Declaration of Human Right.” New Brunswick Human Rights Commission, www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/nbhrc/education-and-engagement/john-peters-humphrey.html. Accessed 28 June 2023.

“Profile of John Peters Thomas Humphrey.” Frontier Centre for Public Policy, Jan. 2021, chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://fcpp.org/wp-content/uploads/PS-Humphrey-vs01.pdf. Accessed 28 June 2023.

Roth, Erin C. “John Peters Humphrey: Canadian Nationalist and World Government Advocate.” The Canadian Yearbook of International Law, 9 Mar. 2016, www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-yearbook-of-international-law-annuaire-canadien-de-droit-international/article/abs/john-peters-humphrey-canadian-nationalist-and-world-government-advocate/3C93E2F2FAD4660375D9DA6F89D0BFF5. Accessed 28 June, 2023.

Scott, Anna Huestis. “The Boy Who Was Bullied.” The Boy Who Was Bullied, 19 Mar. 2016, theboywhowasbullied.com/2016/08/31/about-the-author/. Accessed 21 June 2023.