Know
Your Rights and UN Archives have chosen photos, audio and video of some
personalities who have worked for Your Rights in the past 60 years.
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (U.S.A., 1884 - 1962)
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
was First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported
the New Deal policies of her husband, President Franklin D. Roosevelt,
and assumed a role as an advocate for civil rights.
In the 1940s, she was one of the co-founders of Freedom and founded the
UN Association of the United States in 1943 to advance support for the
formation of the UN. She was a delegate to the UN General Assembly from
1945 and 1952. During her time at the UN she chaired the committee that drafted and approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Click to listen: Eleanor Roosevelt speech at United Nations GA plenary meeting, 1948.
Alva Myrdal (Sweden, 1902 –1986)
Alva Myrdal
was an UN diplomat, Nobel laureate and Swedish government minister who
made a major contribution by promoting social welfare, women’s rights
and advocating nuclear disarmament. In 1949, Myrdal became the first
woman to be appointed head of a department in the UN when she took
office as principal director of the United Nations Department of Social
Welfare. Myrdal was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1982.
John Peters Humphrey (Canada, 1905 – 1995)
John Peters Humphrey was a Canadian legal scholar, jurist, and human rights advocate.
He was the first Director of the Human Rights Division in the UN
Secretariat in 1946, where he was the principal drafter of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
He remained with the UN for 20 years during which he oversaw the
implementation of 67 international conventions and the constitutions of
dozens of countries. In 1963, he put forth the idea of a UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights.
Dag Hammarskjöld (Sweden, 1905 - 1961)
Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld
was a Swedish diplomat, and the second S-G of the UN. He served from
April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961 whilst on
a peace mission to Congo. He is the only person to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously. U.S. President John F. Kennedy has called Hammarskjöld “the greatest statesman of our century”.
Click to listen: Dag Hammarskjöld speech at United Nations GA plenary meeting, 1948.
Pablo Neruda (Chile, 1904-1973)
Pablo Neruda was a writer and political activist in Chile.
Neruda became politicized following his experiences of the Spanish
Civil War and held posts in the Chilean Communist Party until 1945
before the conservative Chilean President González Videla outlawed it. In 1971, Neruda won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
He died of cancer twelve days after the Chilean coup d'état led by
Augusto Pinochet with Neruda's funeral becoming the first public
protest against the military dictatorship.
Click to listen: Pablo Neruda reciting verses at UN special event, 1972. (Spanish)
Nadine Gordimer (South Africa, 1923 -)
Nadine Gordimer
is a South African writer, political activist and Nobel Prize laureate
in literature. Her writings deal with moral and racial issues,
particularly apartheid in South Africa. She was active in the
anti-apartheid movement, joining the African National Congress during
the days when the organization was banned. When Mandela was released from prison in 1990, Gordimer was one of the first persons he wanted to see. She has recently been active in HIV/AIDS causes.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (U.S.A., 1929 - 1968)
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a leader in the American civil rights movement.
A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his
career. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–6) and helped found the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (1957). His efforts led to the famous 1963 March on Washington.
In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace
Prize. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee,
and has since been posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of
Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal.
Betty Friedan (U.S.A., 1921-2006)
Betty Friedan was an American feminist, activist and writer, best known for starting what is commonly known as the "Second Wave"
of feminism, and author of the famous work of The Feminie Mystique that
influenced the movement. In 1966, Betty Friedan co-founded the U.S.
National Organization for Women.
René Samuel Cassin (France, 1887 – 1976)
René Samuel Cassin
(5 October 1887 – 20 February 1976) was a French jurist and judge. A
French soldier in World War I, he later went on to form the Union
Federale, a pacifist Veterans organisation. He received the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1968 for his work in drafting the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. He confessed that "men are not always good"
but he has based much of his life's work on the premise that human
responses can be constructive if states transform the conditions that
breed ill will into those that recognize the dignity of man.
Helvi Sipilä (Finland, 1915 -)
Helvi Sipilä
is a champion for the human rights of women and children throughout the
world who pushed the promotion of peace and the advancement of women.
Her career in the UN began in 1960 as Finnish representative on the
Committee on the Status of Women.
She was first woman to be appointed Under-SG, for Social Development
and Humanitarian Affairs from 1972-1980 and was also the SG of
International Women's Year as well as of the UN Decade for Women
(1976-1985).
Click to listen: Helvi Sipilä speech at United Nations intergovernmental meeting, IWY, 1975.
Sérgio Vieira de Mello (Brazil, 1948 –2003)
Sérgio
Vieira de Mello was a Brazilian diplomat who worked for the UN for over
34 years, earning respect and praise around the world for his efforts
in the humanitarian and political programs of the UN. He was killed in
the Canal Hotel bombing in Iraq along with 21 others on August 19, 2003.
He began his U.N. career as an official of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees in Geneva and then worked with refugees in Bangladesh and
Cyprus.
Wangari Muta Maathai (Kenya, 1940 -)
Wangari Muta Maathai
is an environmental and political activist. In 2004 she became the
first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the
Green Belt Movement for “her contribution to sustainable development,
democracy and peace”.
Simone Veil (France, 1927-)
Simone Annie Jacob is a French lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Constitutional Council of France and the European Parliament.
From 1974 to 1979, she was Minister of Health and pushed forward laws
on making access to contraception easier and on legalizing abortion.
Veil served as the first President of the European Parliament and 1997
she received an honorary damehood (DBE) from the British government for
her contributions to humanity.
Click to listen: Simone Veil, speech at United Nations GA meeting, 26 October 1993.
Desmond Tutu (South Africa, 1931-)
Desmond Tutu
is a South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame
during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. In 1984, Tutu became the
second South African to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Tutu chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and is currently the chairman of The Elders.
Click to listen: Archbishope Desmond Tutu UN lecture together with former Secretary General, K.Annan, 2004.
Mother Teresa (Republic of Macedonia, 1910-1997)
Mother Teresa
was an Albanian-born Roman Catholic nun with Indian citizenship who
founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta in 1950 and where for
over forty years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying.
By the 1970s she had become internationally famed as a humanitarian and
advocate for the poor and helpless. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in
1979 and India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, in 1980.
Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh, 1940-)
Muhammad Yunus
is a Bangladeshi banker and economist. He is famous for his successful
application of microcredit - the extension of small loans. These loans
are given to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank
loans. Yunus is the founder of Grameen Bank. In 2006, Yunus and the
bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He is one of the founding members of Global Elders. Yunus also serves on the board of directors of the UN Foundation.
Theo Van Boven (Netherlands, May 26, 1934 -)
Theo van Boven is known for his work in the field of Human Rights.
He was a lecturer in human rights before becoming the Netherland´s
representative on the UN Commission on Human Rights. From 1977 to 1982
he was the Director of the UN Division of Human Rights. In addition,
van Boven has served on the Council of the International Institute of
Human Rights and the European Human Rights Foundation. He was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 1985.
Jimmy Carter (U.S.A., 1924 -)
Jimmy Carter is a former President of the United States, serving from 1977 to 1981, and the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize.
He has championed human rights throughout the world and in 1982 founded
The Carter Center which addresses national and international issues of
public policy. Carter Center fellows, associates, and staff join
President Carter in efforts to resolve conflict, promote democracy,
protect human rights, and prevent disease and other afflictions.
Dame Graça Machel-Mandela (Mozambique, 1945-)
Dame Graça Machel-Mandela
is the widow of the late Mozambican president Samora Machel and is the
current wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela. Born in
Mozambique, she became involved in various issues related to its
independence, joining the Mozambican Liberation Front.
After her retirement from the Mozambique politics, she was put in
charge of a UN report on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children and
was also named chairperson of the National Organisation of Children in
Mozambique. She was awarded the Nansen Medal by the UN in recognition
for her humanitarian work and was named Dame Commander of the Order of
the British Empire in 2007.
Aung San Suu Kyi (Myanmar, 1945 -)
Aung San Suu Kyi
is a nonviolent pro-democracy activist and leader of the National
League for Democracy in Myanmar and a noted prisoner of conscience. In
1990 her party won the general election but the government refused to
hand over power. She was held in house arrest from 1989-1995 and again
from 2000-2002. She was again put under house arrest in May 2003 and
has been held since. Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her
peaceful and non-violent struggle.
Jody Williams (U.S.A., 1950 -)
Jody Williams
is the founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban
Landmines (ICBL), which was formally launched by six NGOs in October of
1992 and which has now grown to more than one thousand NGOs in more
than sixty countries. Working
in a cooperative effort with governments, UN bodies and the
International Committee of the Red Cross, the ICBL achieved its goal of
an international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines at Oslo in
September 1997. Following this she was awarded Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the ICBL.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (South Africa, 1918 –)
Nelson Mandela is a former President of South Africa.
Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist and
leader of the African National Congress and spent 27 years in prison
while he spearheaded the struggle against apartheid.
Following his release from prison on 11 February 1990, his switch to a
policy of reconciliation and negotiation helped lead the transition to
multi-racial democracy in South Africa and he has since become a symbol
of freedom and equality. Mandela has received more than one hundred
awards over four decades, most notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
Click to listen: Nelson Mandela speech at United Nations GA plenary meeting, 1994.
Bianca Jagger (Nicaragua, 1950 -)
Bianca Jagger
is a social and human rights advocate and a former actress. Jagger is a
Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador, Chair of the World Future
Council, Chair of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, and a
member of the Director's Leadership Council of Amnesty International US. She was formerly married to Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones.
Mary Robinson (Ireland, 1944 - )
Mary Robinson was
the first female President of Ireland, serving from 1990 to 1997, and
the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002.
In 1999 she was awarded the J. William Fulbright Prize for
International Understanding, and in 2004 she received Amnesty
International's Ambassador of Conscience Award for her work in
promoting human rights. Robinson has been Honorary President of Oxfam
International since 2002.
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão (East Timor, 1946-)
Xanana Gusmão was the first President of East Timor and is currently the fourth Prime Minister of East Timor from 2007 until present.
Xanana Gusmão started his political activism in 1971 when he became
involved in a nationalist organization opposed to the Portuguese
colonial system. After the
invasion of East Timor by Indonesia Xanana Gusmão joined the resistance
movement and was incarcerated by the Indonesian authorities. He has been awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1999, the Sydney Peace Prize in 2000.
Click to listen: Xanana Gusmão, speech at UN Security Council meeting, 18 may 2001.
Shirin Ebadi (Iran, 1947 -)
Shirin Ebadi
is an Iranian lawyer, human rights activist and founder of Children's
Rights Support Association in Iran. On October 10, 2003, Ebadi was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering
efforts for democracy and human rights, especially women's and
children's rights. She is the first Iranian, the first Shia and the
first Muslim woman to receive the prize and now works as a lawyer and
teaches at the University of Tehran.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (Liberia, 1938-)
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the current President of Liberia, making her Africa's first elected female head of state.
She has held a number of international financial positions, and has
been actively involved in a range of advisory boards both in Liberia
and abroad. She was one of the
founding members of the International Institute for Women in Political
Leadership and has been an avid campaigner for freedom, justice and
equality, for which she has been imprisoned and forced into exile on
more than one occasion.
