High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Alfred-Maurice de Zayas (born 31 May 1947 in Havana, Cuba) is an American lawyer, writer, historian, a leading expert in the field of human rights, as well as a former high-ranking United Nations official. He is currently a professor of international law at the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations, and was formerly a senior lawyer with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Secretary of the Human Rights Committee, and the Chief of Petitions. He practised law in New York as an associate in the law firm Simpson Thacher Bartlett from 1970 to 1974, specializing on corporate law, and is also a retired member of the Florida Bar.