Louis Arbour
Born in Montreal, in her childhood, Arbour was editor of the school magazine, and very early on earned a reputation for irreverence. This irreverence also encouraged her to be one of the most important persons in the field of human rights around the world.
She was appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 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. As High Commissioner she sought to lead the international human rights movement by acting as a moral authority and voice for victims.
In December 2003, a few months before starting her high commission, Louis Arbour received a LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual and Intersexual) delegation at Wilson Palace that came from an international dialogue organized in Geneva, and listened with respect and attention to the demands raised.
She recommended the use of the mechanisms of the United Nations to defend LGBTI Human Rights, and considered that the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity need serious study for incorporation into the framework of the mechanisms of the UNHRC.
On 26 July 2006, Louis Arbour delivered an especially well-received speech at the opening dinner of the International Conference on LGBT Human Rights which formed part of the first World Outgames celebrated in Montreal, helping promote the conference’s goal of recognition at the United Nations. She also made a forceful appeal for the protection of the human rights of LGBTO (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Organization) people and LGBTI rights activists by the international community and the UN.
Louis Arbour also received significant public attention for her other work, most notably her 1992 ruling that prison inmates have the right to vote.
Arbour's four-year term expires on June 30, 2008. She is not seeking a second term. We hope that her leaving will not affect UN interest in LGBTI human rights, and that action against sexual and gender discrimination will continue.
