Skip to main content

Main navigation

  • AJC Home
  • Who We Are
    • About AJC
    • Leadership
    • Our Impact
    • Global Offices
    • U.S. Regional Offices
    • Project Interchange
    • Alexander Young Leadership Department
    • Careers
    • Archives and History
  • Issues
    • Israel
    • Antisemitism
    • Radicalism & Extremism
    • BDS
    • Interreligious
    • Human Rights
    • Policy Resources
  • Take Action
    • Action Alerts / Petitions
    • #JewishandProud
    • Stand with Ukraine
    • The State of Antisemitism in America Report
    • Disrupt Antisemitism
    • Mayors United Against Antisemitism
    • #TranslateHate
  • Events
    • Global Forum
    • Advocacy Anywhere
  • News and Resources
    • Global Voice
    • Antisemitism Resources
    • Israel Resources
    • Iran Resources
  • Support Our Work
    • Donate
    • Donor Recognition Societies
      • National Leadership Council
      • Marshall Society
      • AJC Visionaries
        • Create Your Legacy
    • Planned Giving
  • Relevance
  • Date
  • Title

Secondary navigation

  • Languages
    • English
    • Español
    • Français
    • Deutsch
  • Global Offices
  • Media
  • Podcast

Header Follow Links

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Donate

Felice Gaer

Director, Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights
Headshot of Felice Gaer

Felice Gaer directs AJC’s Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights. Gaer served as Vice-Chairperson of the Committee against Torture, which reviews compliance with the Convention against Torture, a treaty ratified by 165 countries. The first American to serve on this official UN treaty body, Gaer served for five terms during 2000-2019. From 2001-2012, she also served five terms on the bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a federal commission that advises on U.S. policy to advance freedom of religion and belief worldwide. She served three times as Chair, and three times as Vice-Chair. Gaer was Regents Professor at The University of California at Los Angeles in 2010.  In 2018, the Jewish Theological Seminary awarded Felice Gaer the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, citing her “extraordinary contributions to the cause of human rights.” She chaired the steering committee for the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a coalition of over 100 organizations, and received the First Freedom Center’s National Religious Freedom Award in 2010. In 2002 and again in 2003, she was cited in the Forward’s annual “Forward Fifty” list of Jewish leaders making a difference. Gaer was a public member of nine U.S. delegations to UN human rights negotiations, including the Beijing World Conference on Women (1995), the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights (1993), and the UN Commission on Human Rights. Gaer co-edited with Christen Broecker The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Conscience for the World (2013) and authored many articles about human rights and the UN. A graduate of Wellesley College, from which she received the Alumni Achievement Award in 1995, Gaer holds advanced degrees from Columbia University. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She chaired the Leo Nevas Task Force on Human Rights of UNA-USA from 2012-2016.

Share This

Back to Top

By this Author

It’s Time To Reject Racism But Disconnect From Durban
9.21.2021
Read AJC's Analysis
UN Finally Confronts Antisemitism As A Human Rights Problem
10.16.2019
Read AJC's Analysis
More by Felice Gaer

Sign Up to Stay Informed

Global Voice

Flaming swastika
Great Replacement Theory: Here’s What Jews Need to Know About White Supremacy
AJC Blue Logo
AJC Delegation Visits Japan to Bolster Strong Ties with American Jewish Community
graphic displaying AJC logo
Don’t Just Condemn Antisemitism; Combat It
Photo of x troop during WWII
X Troop: The Inspiring Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During WWII
More AJC News and Analysis

Sign Up to Stay Informed

Stay Connected

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Donate

AJC's mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel, and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world.

© Copyright 2022 AJC

Footer menu

  • Global Voice
  • Who We Are
    • Leadership
    • Global Offices
    • Regional Offices
    • Alexander Young Leadership Department
    • Archives and History
    • Careers
  • Issues
    • Israel
    • BDS
    • Antisemitism
    • Radicalism & Extremism
    • Interreligious
    • Human Rights
  • Take Action
  • Global Forum
  • Support Our Work
    • Donate
    • Donor Recognition Societies
    • Planned Giving
  • Legal Information
    • Administrative Policies
    • Form 990
    • Impact and Financial Reports
  • Privacy Policy
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us
  • Global Offices
    • AJC Abu Dhabi: The Sidney Lerner Center for Arab-Jewish Understanding
    • AJC Africa Institute
    • AJC Asia Pacific Institute
    • AJC Berlin Lawrence and Lee Ramer Institute for German-Jewish Relations
    • AJC Paris
    • Shapiro Silverberg AJC Central Europe (Warsaw)
    • AJC Transatlantic Institute (Brussels)
    • Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs
    • AJC Jerusalem
  • Foreign Language Websites
    • AJC Berlin (German)
    • AJC Español (Spanish)
    • AJC Paris (French)