Theresia Degener

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Theresia Degener (born 10 April 1961 in Altenberge, West Germany) is a jurist and professor of law at the Protestant University for Applied Sciences of the Rheinland-Westfalen-Lippe.

Degener is well known for being an outspoken victim of the Contergan Skandal, also known as the thalidomide disaster/tragedy,{{Cite web|url=http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/controversies/thalidomide|title=Thalidomide|website=www.sciencemuseum.org.uk|language=en|accessdate=2017-04-07}} which makes reference to the drug thalidomide first marketed in 1957 in West Germany under the trade-name Contergan. The drug, first described as a mild sleeping aid, caused thousands of babies worldwide to be born with malformed limbs.

She is also a lead activist of the rights of Persons With Disabilities, and is the Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/Membership.aspx|title=Membership of the Committee|website=www.ohchr.org|language=en-US|accessdate=2017-04-07}}

She is also a member of the Human Rights Initiative Advisory Board of the Open Society Foundation.{{Cite web|title=Human Rights Initiative Advisory Board|url=https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/who-we-are/boards/human-rights-initiative-advisory-board|access-date=2020-09-23|website=www.opensocietyfoundations.org|language=en}}