Alfred-Maurice de Zayas is a former UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order (2012-18), senior lawyer with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Secretary of the UN Human Rights Committee and Chief of the Petitions Department. De Zayas grew up in Chicago, studied history and law, holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. in modern history from the University of Göttingen, as a Fulbright Graduate Fellow in Germany. Retired member of the New York and Florida Bar, he is author of 9 books and more than 200 scholarly articles. A former president of PEN International, Centre Suisse romand 2006-9 and again 2013-17, he is currently Professor of International Law at the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations. He blogs at https://dezayasalfred.wordpress.com/

His latest book is Building a Just World Order. (see this extensive review by Dr. Hans Koechler, Professor Emeritus at the University of Innsbruck, Austria and President, International Progress Organization. De Zayas’ book, The Human Rights Industry. is forthcoming in 2022.

The de Zayas 25 Principles of International Order offer a guideline to the achievement of world peace.