[APWW-Meet] Ban 'gratified' at General Assembly endorsement of human rights

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nominee
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Ban 'gratified' at General Assembly endorsement of human rights chief =20
nominee

28 July 2008 - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that he was =20
"gratified" that his nomination of South African judge Navanethem =20
Pillay as the new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights =20
had today been endorsed by the General Assembly.
Mr. Ban reiterated his commitment to ensuring that human rights remain =20
high on the agenda of the Organization, in a statement released by his =20
spokesperson.

He said that he expected that the new the new High Commissioner would =20
preserve the independence of her Office, and maintain effective =20
working relations with the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council =20
and the human rights community in general.

Ms. Pillay will succeed Louise Arbour of Canada, who completed her =20
five-year term on 30 June.

Since 2003, Ms. Pillay has served as a judge on the International =20
Criminal Court (ICC), based in The Hague in the Netherlands.

Prior to that, she served - as both Judge and President - on the UN =20
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which she joined in =20
1995.

The Secretary-General said that he was determined to give Ms. Pillay =20
his full support, including with increased financial and human =20
resources, as approved by the General Assembly.


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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7529821.stm

Profile: New UN human rights chief
By Jonah Fisher
BBC News, Johannesburg

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"This is the only office at the UN to be fiercely uncompromising and =20
independent about human rights standards. The Commissioner is the =20
voice of the victim everywhere."
Navanethem Pillay
---

Ms Pillay has set legal precedents on the treatment of genocide suspects

Navanethem Pillay, the United Nation's new commissioner for human =20
rights, wants to be the "the champion of human rights in every part of =20
the world".

Born in the South African city of Durban in 1941, this daughter of a =20
bus driver was put through university thanks to donations from fellow =20
members of the local Indian community.

Graduating with a law degree, Ms Pillay became the first woman to =20
establish a legal practice in South Africa's Natal province.

"I had no choice," she told the BBC. "No law firm would employ me =20
because they said they could not have white employees taking =20
instructions from a coloured person."

Working as a lawyer under apartheid, Ms Pillay along with her black =20
colleagues was not even allowed to enter a judge's chambers.
During those 28 years she is credited with exposing torture and the =20
poor conditions of political detainees held by the apartheid police.

POLICE SURVEILLANCE

"I was representing men who were imprisoned on Robben Island along =20
with Mandela," she said.

"They had no right to legal representation or even to know the rules =20
of the prison. I was told by their wives just how bad the conditions =20
were."

A successful appeal by Ms Pillay to the provincial court gave Nelson =20
Mandela and his fellow inmates some very basic legal rights. Not =20
surprisingly she soon found herself under constant surveillance from =20
the security police.

"During her time in Natal she was a very courageous fighter for people =20
at the wrong end of apartheid law," said Richard Goldstone, the South =20
African former international war crimes prosecutor.

"Simply by making progress in the legal profession she succeeded in =20
beating the odds."

Shortly after Nelson Mandela became South African president in 1994, =20
he nominated Ms Pillay as the first non-white woman on the country's =20
High Court.

But it was to be a short-lived appointment. She was soon recruited to =20
sit as a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

While there she presided over landmark cases that established mass =20
rape as a form of genocide.

Since 2003 she has been a judge at the International Criminal Court =20
working on its appeals panel.

Navanethem Pillay's new role as United Nations Human Rights =20
Commissioner will require a shift of focus. No longer will she be able =20
to take a position of studied impartiality.

BACK TO ADVOCACY

Campaigners expect the commissioner to be a powerful advocate for the =20
world's oppressed, willing to be outspoken if necessary.

"Pillay will need to use her unique bully pulpit [public platform] to =20
throw a spotlight on the world's worst violations, including Sudan's =20
mass killing in Darfur, Burmese brutality, Chinese persecution, and =20
Mugabe's destruction of Zimbabwe," said Hillel Neuer, executive =20
director of UN Watch, an independent human rights group.

While understandably cautious on her first day in the job, Ms Pillay =20
says she sees her new role as returning to that of being an advocate.
"This is the only office at the UN to be fiercely uncompromising and =20
independent about human rights standards. The commissioner is the =20
voice of the victim everywhere."

Ms Pillay replaces Canadian Louise Arbour in the role and earned the =20
praise of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who said she has =20
outstanding credentials for taking over the rapidly growing UN Human =20
Rights Commission.

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