Tracking the News

New York – South African judge Navanethem Pillay has been appointed as the new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that he was “gratified” that his nomination of Ms Pillay had been endorsed by the UN General Assembly.

Mr Ban reiterated his commitment to ensuring that human rights remain high on the agenda of the organisation and therefore he expected that the new High Commissioner would preserve the independence of her office, and maintain effective working relations with the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council and the human rights community in general.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights, which was instituted in 1993, is the highest office in the UN dealing with human rights.

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

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

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

Mr Ban said that he was determined to give Ms Pillay his full support, including with increased financial and human resources, as approved by the General Assembly.

The South African Centre for Human Rights has also congratulated Ms Pillay who was an activist attorney under the apartheid system

“We wish Justice Pillay well in her challenging but extremely important mandate should she be confirmed”, said Professor Frans Viljoen, Director of the Centre for Human Rights.

“Justice Pillay not only has the experience, but also embodies humility and human rights. She brings with her a tenacity and resolute spirit. Her appointment will be especially significant to Africa, a continent which is most often under international scrutiny for the human rights compliance of its leaders.”

According to the centre, she made a successful application in 1973 against the officer commanding Robben Island Prison, which established that political prisoners on Robben Island had rights and privileges.

“This ruling enabled all Robben Island prisoners including former President Nelson Mandela to have access to lawyers which previously had been denied them.

“The application also exposed the appalling conditions actually prevailing on Robben Island at the time, said the centre in a statement released recently.

Ms Pillay has a well-established relationship with the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights where she received the Centre’s ‘Women in Law Award’ in 2002.

She serves on the editorial board of the African Human Rights Law Reports, and has been invited to address graduates of its Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa programme. - BuaNews