John Ruggie, human rights icon, dies at 76

Some SGI members may not recognize his name, but much of our work in human rights over the last 20 years has been built upon John Ruggie’s vision, imagination, determination, and political skill.

John G. Ruggie, a Harvard professor who developed the U.N. Global Compact and its Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), died on Thursday, September 16, at age 76.

SGI joins with so many who mourn the passing of this icon in human rights. May we, who believe in the work that he advanced, continue the efforts that he initiated.

Ruggie was a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. From 1997-2001, he served as United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Planning, a post created specifically for him by then Secretary-General Kofi Annan. His areas of responsibility included assisting the Secretary-General in establishing and overseeing the UN Global Compact, now the world’s largest corporate citizenship initiative; proposing and gaining General Assembly approval for the Millennium Development Goals; and broadly contributing to the effort at institutional reform and renewal for which Annan and the United Nations as a whole were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. In 2005, Annan appointed Ruggie as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Business and Human Rights, tasked with proposing measures to strengthen the human rights performance of the global business sector. In June 2011 the UN Human Rights Council, in an unprecedented step, unanimously endorsed the UNGPs that Professor Ruggie developed through extensive consultations, pilot projects and research. The UNGPs, dubbed the “Ruggie Principles,” celebrated their 10th anniversary this year.

I’d recommend reading these tributes to his work:

• Salil Tripathi on John Ruggie’s Legacy
• In Memory of John G. Ruggie
• John Ruggie, architect of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
• In Memory of John G. Ruggie: Tribute by Bennett Freeman
• ICCR statement