Asbjørn Eide (born 11 February 1933) is a Norwegian

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

scholar with a base in Law and Social Science Research. Eide is one of Norway's foremost experts on human rights. As a researcher and specialist, he has been particularly concerned with

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

and

minority Minority may refer to: Politics * Minority government, formed when a political party does not have a majority of overall seats in parliament * Minority leader, in American politics, the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative b ...

issues, and he has held important assignments in these fields in Norway and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

system.

Career

Eide was the founding Director of the Norwegian Center for Human Rights at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

, having first started (with

Torkel Opsahl Torkel Opsahl (17 March 1931 in Stavanger — 16 September 1993 in Geneva) was a Norwegian human rights scholar, professor of the University of Oslo since 1965 and head of the board of its Human Rights Institute since 1987. From 1970 to 1984, he wa ...

) the Human Rights Project at the

Peace Research Institute Oslo The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO; ) is a private research institution in peace and conflict studies, based in Oslo, Norway, with around 100 employees. It was founded in 1959 by a group of Norwegian researchers led by Johan Galtung, who was ...

which became the Norwegian Institute of Human Rights. From 1971 to 1975, Secretary-General of the

International Peace Research Association The International Peace Research Association is a global network of academics. It was founded in 1964, and promotes peace by supporting national organizations, hosting conferences, publishing and supporting the publication of peace-promoting journ ...

. In 1981 Eide was elected member of the UN

Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights The Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (before 1999, known as the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities) was a subsidiary agency of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. It ...

(UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights, 1981—2003). He was subsequently re-elected several times as the only Nordic member, and was responsible for developing several of its studies. As a member of the Sub-Commission Eide was one of the advocates for the establishment of the

Working Group on Indigenous Populations The Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP) was a subsidiary body within the structure of the United Nations. It was established in 1982, and was one of the six working groups overseen by the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of ...

, and became its first chairman from 1982 to 1983. This was the first official international forum where the Indigenous peoples' representatives could present their requests and demands. The work has been of great importance for further developing international law on Indigenous peoples. After the end of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

and the dissolution of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, there was an outbreak of many serious ethnic conflicts. Eide prepared a study for the Commission on "peaceful and constructive ways" to address minority situations. This study led the UN to initiate a new working group to protect minorities, and Eide was chair of this UN Working Group on the Rights of Minorities (1995—2004). Eide has also published a large number of articles and books, alone or together with Nordic and international colleagues in the fields of peace research and international human rights. He has been in the forefront of supporting open access in international law through his publications and as Principal Scientific Adviser to the

Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher The Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher (TOAEP) is an academic publisher specializing in international law and policy. Established in 2010, it is named after the late European international lawyer Torkel Opsahl (1931-1993). TOAEP originally grew out ...

Personal life

He was married on October 10, 1959, to Professor of nutritional physiology Wenche Barth Eide (b. 1935), and the father of former Norwegian Minister of Defence (2011–12) and

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

(2012-13, 2023-)

Espen Barth Eide Espen Barth Eide (born 1 May 1964) is a Norwegian politician and political scientist. He is currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Jonas Gahr Støre's government, having previously done so under Jens Stoltenberg. He has been ...

Honors

*2010:

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

awarded for his work on Human rights

Publications (in selection)

*1978: ''Fattig, ufri og mishandlet. Om det internasjonale menneskerettighetsvernet'' *1979: ''The World Military Order'' (with

Mary Kaldor Mary Henrietta Kaldor (born 16 March 1946) is a British academic, currently Professor of Global Governance at the London School of Economics, where she is also the Director of the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit. She also teaches ...

) *1980: ''Problems of Contemporary Militarism'' (with M. Thee) *1984: ''Food as a Human Right'' *1992: ''The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A Commentary'' *1992: ''Human Rights in Perspective. A Global Assessment'' (with

Bernt Hagtvet Bernt Hagtvet (born 5 March 1946) is a Norwegian political scientist. He is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Oslo. Among his areas of interest are European politics, extremist movements and human rights. He was born ...

eds.) *1995: ''Peaceful and Constructive Resolution of Situations Involving Minorities'' *1999: ''The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A Common Standard of Achievement'' (with Gudmundur Alfredsson eds.)

References

External links

BiographyBiographyBiographyBooks by A. Eide
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eide, Asbjorn 1933 births Living people Norwegian legal scholars Members of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights Norwegian officials of the United Nations