Media Release

FA28 - 23 February 2004 

Louise Arbour Appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

I warmly welcome the appointment of the Honourable Justice Louise Arbour as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.  Justice Arbour’s appointment was announced in New York by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and will take effect later this year.  In our capacity as Chair of the Commission on Human Rights for 2004, Australia looks forward to working closely with the new High Commissioner. 

Justice Arbour is an outstanding choice for this important position.  Justice Arbour was appointed Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda in 1996, a role she performed with great distinction until 1999.  She has served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada since that time.  As High Commissioner for Human Rights, Justice Arbour will have overall responsibility for the United Nations’global human rights activities. 

I would like to express our appreciation for the work of Dr Bertrand Ramcharan, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, who took over the role of Acting High Commissioner when Sergio Vieira de Mello was appointed as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Iraq in May 2003.  Dr Ramcharan will continue to act as High Commissioner for Human Rights until Justice Arbour takes up her position.  We have valued his leadership during a time of great sadness for the Commission since the tragic death of Sergio Vieira de Mello in August 2003. 

Australia attaches great importance to the role of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and to the UN’s work in the area of human rights more broadly.  The Government continues to work with the Office of the High Commissioner to strengthen the UN human rights machinery –to make it as responsive and effective as possible - building on the success of our diplomatic initiative on treaty body reform. 

Media inquiries: Chris Kenny +61 02 6277 7500 - Lyndall Sachs (Departmental) 02 6261 1555