Comment by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on passing of Thomas Buergenthal

“With the passing of Thomas Buergenthal yesterday, we lost a towering figure for the defence of human rights. The full span of Thomas Buergenthal’s life reflected and taught us the enduring power of human rights.

His earliest years were lived in inconceivable horror. As a child, he suffered the utter abnegation of human dignity in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Sachsenhausen. Marked indelibly by Nazism’s denial of human rights, he rose – through the power of his intellect, his thirst for justice, and his belief in the ability of humanity to flourish under the rule of law – to the highest positions of leadership and worked to avoid a repeat of those abject horrors.

As President of the International Court of Justice and Member of the UN Human Rights Committee, as President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and in his other roles, Thomas Buergenthal was a principled advocate for the effective protection of human rights and for the creation of effective institutions to defend and vindicate them.

Thomas Buergenthal's vision of a more just world is as relevant today as it ever was. I am grateful for his courage. He helped shape several generations of activists, human rights defenders, judges and legal practitioners around the world. He showed us that – with commitment and perseverance – we can make that vision a reality.

My sincerest condolences go to his family, and to all those he touched through a life of extraordinary power and influence.”  
   
ENDS