UN Human Rights Commissioner arrives Tuesday for Sri Lanka visit

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 October 2007, 02:54 GMT]
High Commissioner of Human Rights in the United Nations, Ms Louise Arbour, is to arrive in Colombo Tuesday on a five-day official tour to Sri Lanka. She is scheduled to meet relatives of abducted civilians in Colombo on October 11 and in Jaffna on October 12. She will be meeting government leaders, representatives of human rights institutions and political parties during her stay in Colombo.

She is to conclude her visit by holding a media conference on October 13 in Colombo, UN sources in Colombo said.

Ms Arbour was appointed High Commissioner for Human Rights by the UN Secretary General and approved by the UN General Assembly on July 4,2004. Ms Arbour, a Canadian national began her distinguished academic career in 1970 culminating in the positions of Associate Professor and Associate Dean at the Osgood Hall Law School of York University in Toronto, Canada in 1987.

In December 1987 she was appointed to the Supreme Court of Ontario (High Court of Justice) and in 1990 she was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario. In 1995, Ms Arbour was appointed by Order-in-Council as single Commissioner to conduct an inquiry into certain events at Prisons for Women in Kingston, Ontario.

In 1996, she was appointed by the Security Council of the UN as Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda. After three years as Prosecutor, she resigned to take up an appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Ms Arbour graduated from College Regina Assumpta, Montreal in 1967 and completed an LL.L (with distinction) from the Faculty of Law, University of Montreal in 1970. Following the Quebec Bar Admission Course, she was called to the Quebec Bar in 1971 and the Ontario Bar in1977.

Ms Louise Arbour has received honorary Doctorates from 27 universities and numerous medals and awards. She is a member of many distinguished professional societies and organizations and has served on the boards of many others. She has published extensively on criminal law and given innumerable addresses on both national and international criminal law. Ms. Arbour was born on February 10, 1947 in Montreal, Quebec and has three children. She is fluent in French and English.