René Cassin

René Cassin was a French jurist and diplomat who helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and received the 1968 Nobel Peace Prize.

John Humphrey: A Canadian legal scholar who directed the United Nations Division of Human Rights and prepared an early draft of the Universal Declaration. His UN draft supplied a working text for the declaration Cassin helped revise.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A 1948 United Nations declaration setting out universal civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. Cassin helped shape its text, the work most closely associated with his legacy.
World War I: A global war fought from 1914 to 1918, centered on the European powers and their allies. Cassin served as a French soldier and was seriously wounded in the conflict.
United Nations Commission on Human Rights: The UN body established in 1946 to develop international human-rights standards, including the Universal Declaration. Cassin served as a French representative in the commission’s drafting process.
Appeal of 18 June: Charles de Gaulle’s 1940 radio address urging continued French resistance after the armistice with Germany. Cassin helped draft the appeal that became a founding statement of Free France.
Eleanor Roosevelt: An American diplomat who chaired the United Nations Commission on Human Rights during the drafting of the Universal Declaration. She led the commission in which Cassin’s drafting work took place.
European Convention on Human Rights: A 1950 Council of Europe treaty protecting fundamental rights and establishing international supervision. Cassin helped promote European legal protection of rights after the declaration.
World War II: A global conflict fought from 1939 to 1945 between the Axis powers and the Allies. The fall of France drew Cassin into the Free French movement in exile.
International law: The body of rules and principles governing relations among states and other subjects recognized by international law. Cassin worked to make individual rights a concern of international legal institutions.
French Resistance: The diverse movements and networks that opposed German occupation and the Vichy regime in France during World War II. Cassin’s Free French work formed part of the wider resistance to Nazi rule.

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