Louise Arbour

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Louise Arbour CC
Louise Arbour
In office
September 15, 1999 – June 30, 2004
Preceded by Peter Cory
Succeeded by Rosalie Abella/Louise Charron
Born February 10, 1947 (1947-02-10) (age 61)
Montreal, Quebec

Louise Arbour, CC (born February 10, 1947) is the current UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and a former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

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[edit] Early life

Born in Montreal, Quebec to Bernard Arbour (deceased) and Rose Ravary, the owners of a hotel chain, she attended convent school, during which time her parents divorced. As editor of the school magazine, she earned a reputation for irreverence.

In 1967, she graduated from College Regina Assumpta, and proceeded to the Université de Montréal where she completed an LL.L. with distinction in 1970. She became the Law Clerk for Mr. Justice Louis-Philippe Pigeon of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1971-1972 while completing graduate studies at the Faculty of Law (Civil Section) of the University of Ottawa. She was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1971 and to the Ontario Bar in 1977. She was made a Companion to the Order of Canada in 2007 "for her contributions to the Canadian justice system and for her dedication to the advancement of human rights throughout the world".[1]

She has three children: Emilie, Patrick and Catherine Taman.

[edit] Legal career

From 1972-73, Louise Arbour was research officer for the Law Reform Commission of Canada. She then taught at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, first as a Lecturer (1974), then as Assistant Professor (1975), Associate Professor (1977-1987), and finally as Associate Professor and Associate Dean (1987). She also was Vice-President of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association until her appointment to the Supreme Court of Ontario (High Court of Justice) in 1987 and to the Court of Appeal for Ontario in 1990.

In 1995, Madam Louise Arbour was appointed as President of a Commission of Inquiry, under the Inquiries Act, for the purpose of investigating and reporting on events at the Prison for Women in Kingston, Ontario, following allegations by prisoners of abuse.

In 1996, she was appointed Chief Prosecutor of War Crimes before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague. In that capacity she indicted then President Slobodan Milošević for war crimes, the first time a serving head of State was called to account before an international court. Also indicted were Milan Milutinović, President of the Republic of Serbia, Nikola Šainović, Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Dragoljub Ojdanić, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and Vlajko Stojiljković, Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia.[2][3][4]

In 1999, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien appointed Arbour to the Supreme Court of Canada.[4]

Throughout her career, Arbour has published in the area of criminal procedure and criminal law, in both French and English. At various times, she has served as an editor for the Criminal Reports, the Canadian Rights Reporter, and the Osgoode Hall Law Journal.

Madam Louise Arbour has been awarded honorary doctorates by twenty-seven universities.

She is also the subject of a 2005 fact-based Canadian-German made-for-television movie, entitled Hunt For Justice which follows her quest to indict Bosnian war criminals. Arbour was played by Canadian actress Wendy Crewson.

[edit] UN High Commissioner

On February 20, 2004, she was appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,[5] a position she took officially on July 1, 2004. She replaced Sergio Vieira de Mello, who was killed in the Canal Hotel bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, along with other members of his staff, in August 2003.

In July, during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, she stated that "those in positions of command and control" could be subject to "personal criminal responsibility" for their actions in the conflict. In Arbour's full statement, she did not single out a side for war crimes.[6] However, some have taken the statement to be directed to Israel. Alan Baker, Israel's ambassador to Canada, said he "completely reject[s] Louise Arbour's warning."[7]. In 2006 during a trip to Israel and the occupied territories, Arbour initially refused to meet with the families of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers, Eldad Regev, Ehud Goldwasser, and Gilad Shalit, but later changed her mind following a media furor and accusations of bias. In the meeting, she offered to do "all she can" to help obtain their release. As High Commissioner she was criticized for not using this trip as an opportunity to call attention to their kidnapping. "[8]

Also in July, Arbour was a keynote speaker at the International Conference on LGBT Human Rights in Montreal, where she made a forceful appeal for protection of the human rights of LGBT people and LGBT rights activists by the international community and the UN.[9]

In Nov. 2006, Arbour met backlash for her comments on the Israel-Lebanon conflict. While visiting Sderot, an Israeli town often attacked by rockets, she was heckled and her motorcade was stoned. Asked by the Jerusalem Post[10] if there was a distinction under human rights law between missile attacks aimed at killing civilians and military strikes in which civilians are unintentionally killed, Arbour said the two could not be equated.

“In one case you could have, for instance, a very objectionable intent - the intent to harm civilians, which is very bad - but effectively not a lot of harm is actually achieved,” she said. “But how can you compare that with a case where you may not have an intent but you have recklessness [in which] civilian casualties are foreseeable? The culpability or the intent may not sound as severe, but the actual harm is catastrophic.”[11]

More recently Arbour has been accused of acquiescing in the Ugandan government's "forcible disarmament" campaign against the Karamojong minority, in which rape, torture and mass killing are widely reported. She is quoted as saying “The actions of the UPDF do not comply with international human rights law and domestic law.” But, she also stipulated, “the decision of the Government to undertake renewed efforts to eradicate illegal weapons in Karamoja is essential….”[12]

Arbour's four-year term expires on June 30, 2008 and she is not seeking a second term.[13]

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Governor General Announces New Appointments to the Order of Canada. Governor General of Canada (December 28, 2007).
  2. ^ International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
  3. ^ The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia: CASE No. IT-99-37 UN document
  4. ^ Statement by Justice Louise Arbour, Prosecutor ICTY "I presented an indictment for confirmation against Slobodan Milosevic and four others charging them with crimes against humanity" in a UN press statement (JL/PIU/404-E), 27 May 1999
  5. ^ Louise Arbour Takes Up Mandate of High Commissioner a UN press statement, 1 July 2004
  6. ^ High Comminsioner for Human Rights Calls for Protection of Civilians and Accountablity in Latest Mideast Crisis, July 19 2006
  7. ^ Israeli ambassador says Louise Arbour doesn't get it, July 21 2006
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ Dumouchel, Hervé. "The opening of the International Conference on LGBT Human Rights—a milestone." Fugues 27/07/2006
  10. ^ [2]
  11. ^ Ibid.[3]
  12. ^ Kopel, David. "Guns Don't Kill People, Gun Control Kills People" Reason 23/02/2007
  13. ^ Louise Arbour will not be seeking a second term as High Commissioner. press releases, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (2008-03-07). Retrieved on 2008-03-22.

[edit] External links

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The Lamer court (1990–2000)
v • d • e
The McLachlin court (2000–present)
2000–2002: C. L'Heureux-Dubé · C. Gonthier · F. Iacobucci · J.C. Major · M. Bastarache · W.I. Binnie · L. Arbour · L. LeBel
2002–2003: C. Gonthier · F. Iacobucci · J.C. Major · M. Bastarache · W.I. Binnie · L. Arbour · L. LeBel · M. Deschamps
2003–2004: F. Iacobucci · J.C. Major · M. Bastarache · W.I. Binnie · L. Arbour · L. LeBel · M. Deschamps · M.J. Fish