150+ Canadians Day 09: Louise Arbour

Louise Arbour contributed to peace by her work in the field of justice, bringing justice for those maltreated by their governments#Canada150

Louise Arbour has served on the Supreme Court of Ontario, the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada. Following the chairing of an inquiry into conditions at the Prison for Women in Kingston, she worked for three years as the United Nations Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda.

Arbour secured the first conviction for genocide since the 1948 Genocide Convention (Rwanda) and the first-ever indictment for war crimes by a sitting European head of state (Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic).

“Those on either side of the conflict who commit violations must be held accountable -not only the perpetrators but also those in command of forces which commit such acts may be subject to individual criminal responsibility before a court of law.”