Karel Vasak or Karel Vašák (26 June 1929 – 1 May 2015) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech ...

- French international official and university

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

. Vasak was born in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and later moved to France to study

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

. He decided to remain there after the Communist coup in Prague in February 1948. He acquired French

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

and worked for the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...

in several capacities. In 1969, Vasak became the first

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

International Institute of Human Rights The International Institute of Human Rights ( French: ''Institut international des droits de l'homme,'' IIDH) is an association under French local law based in Strasbourg, France. It includes approximately 300 members (individual and collective) w ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

, a position which he held until 1980. He served as Director of the Division of Human Rights and PeaceUNESCO’s Philosophy of “intellectual and moral solidarity” in attaining peace.
UNESCO. Retrieved 17 August 2011. and later as Legal Advisor to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

and the

World Tourism Organization The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency entrusted with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. UNWTO is the leading internat ...

. Vasak was the editor of a book called ''The International Dimensions of Human Rights'' which was published in 1982 (). He died on 1 May 2015 in

References

1929 births 2015 deaths French diplomats Czech male writers French non-fiction writers French male non-fiction writers {{CzechRepublic-academic-bio-stub

See also

References