Thomas Buergenthal

Thomas Buergenthal (1934–2023) was an American jurist and human rights advocate. He spent his childhood in Polish ghettos and in the Auschwitz and Sachsenhausen concentration camps. After the Second World War, he studied law in the United States and specialized in international law and human rights. He served, among other positions, as a judge on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, a member of the UN Truth Commission for El Salvador, and a member of the UN Human Rights Committee. From 2000 to 2010, he was the American judge on the International Court of Justice in The Hague. He also taught at George Washington University Law School. Buergenthal received numerous honors, including an honorary doctorate from Heidelberg University.