Championing Human Rights: The Story of Louise Arbor

On Inside Geneva this week: part three of our series marking the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Host Imogen Foulkes talks to Louise Arbour, who served as UN Human Rights Commissioner from 2004 to 2008. She arrived in Geneva with a formidable track record.

As a prosecutor for the former Yugoslavia, she had indicted Slobodan Milosevic for war crimes. In Rwanda, she secured convictions of rape as crimes against humanity.

"The work I did both with the tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda were if anything a vindication for me of the significance of law, of the rule of law, as an organising principle in modern society," explains Arbour. 

Leading the UN’s human rights work was a new challenge. 

"These were very challenging times. 2004, you know, this was in the backyard of 9/11. It was, a new, dangerous, unknown world was starting to unfold with a lot of uncertainties, including on the human rights front."

New strategies were needed. 

"When you arrive in the role of high commissioner for human rights, I think that’s part of the dilemma; how do you use your voice?  Because I think to be the megaphone for the denunciation of injustices at some point becomes counterproductive, because it just illuminates how impotent the system is. It’s like you scream in the wilderness," she said. 

That’s why this dedicated lawyer still tells us to follow the laws, treaties, and conventions we have. 

"If you came from another planet and you just looked at the human rights framework; the universal declaration of human rights, all the treaties, the conventions, the work of the treaty bodies, you’d think you’d arrived in heaven. So why is it not the case?"

Join Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva podcast to find out more. 

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