Cees Flinterman: Friendship, Diplomacy, and the Practice of Human Rights

In this episode of Human Rights: Conversations Across Generations, we are honored to welcome Professor Cees Flinterman, one of the most respected figures in international human rights law and one of Professor Bert Lockwood’s oldest friends and collaborators. Their friendship began in 1970 while studying in the graduate law program at the University of Virginia, an experience that helped shape parallel careers devoted to building human rights institutions, education, and global norms. Cees reflects on a career that spans academia, diplomacy, and international human rights bodies. He shares formative experiences teaching and working in Ghana during a period of military rule, contributing to the Netherlands’ first human rights–centered foreign policy, and serving as head of delegation to the UN Commission on Human Rights and the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna. Throughout the conversation, he emphasizes the practical realities of implementing human rights in complex political contexts. The discussion also explores Cees’s work with UN treaty bodies, including his service on the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the UN Human Rights Committee, as well as his collaboration with figures such as Theo van Boven and Nigel Rodley. From drafting early resolutions on China and Tibet to advancing economic, social, and cultural rights, Cees offers rare insight into how international human rights norms are built, defended, and sustained over time. At its heart, this episode is a reflection on friendship, institutional memory, and the long arc of legal change. Through personal stories and global experience, Cees reminds us why optimism, persistence, and human connection remain essential to the practice of human rights. SHOW NOTES Holiday Programming Note We will be taking a brief two-week break for the holiday season. Our next episode of Human Rights: Conversations Across Generations will be released on January 9, 2026. We wish our listeners and community a warm and restful holiday season.   Cees Flinterman’s Publications Professor Flinterman has co-edited and contributed to major works in international human rights law, including Changing Perceptions of Sovereignty and Human Rights: Essays in Honour of Cees Flinterman, edited by Ineke Boerefijn and J. E. Goldschmidt, and Innovation and Inspiration: Fifty Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, co-edited with Peter R. Baehr and Mignon Sender Toine van Dongen Toine van Dongen was a Dutch human rights lawyer and advocate whose work focused on equality, non-discrimination, and the practical application of human rights law in the Netherlands and internationally. Mohamed ElBaradei Mohamed ElBaradei is an Egyptian lawyer and diplomat who served as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency and was jointly awarded the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to prevent the use of nuclear energy for military purposes and to promote peaceful nuclear cooperation. Theo van Boven Theo van Boven is an emeritus professor of international law and human rights whose leadership within the United Nations and Dutch foreign policy helped advance accountability for torture and other gross human rights violations. Soeboer Indonesian Restaurant, The Hague Soeboer is an Indonesian restaurant in The Hague referenced in the episode.