NEWS RELEASES
JUSTICE LOUISE ARBOUR APPOINTED TO INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS
March 1, 1996 No. 31
JUSTICE LOUISE ARBOUR APPOINTED TO
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS
Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today expressed his great pleasure at the
formal appointment yesterday of Justice Louise Arbour as Chief Prosecutor for the
International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
"I am convinced that Justice Arbour's vast experience in Canada will permit her to
make a significant contribution to the work of the Tribunals, which we see as an
international priority," said Mr. Axworthy. "Her efforts in this sensitive task
will help to ensure that those accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity
in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia are brought to justice."
Justice Arbour is a member of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. She is at present
on leave from the Court, having been appointed in April 1995 to preside over an
inquiry into events at the Prison for Women in Kingston, Ontario. Justice Arbour
previously worked as a trial judge, and was an Associate Professor and Associate
Dean at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. Her duties as Chief
Prosecutor for the International Tribunals will commence on October 1, 1996, when
she will replace Justice
Richard Goldstone of South Africa.
Canada has been one of the strongest supporters of the work of the Tribunals,
contributing approximately $1.5 million to their work. The appointment of Justice
Arbour brings to four the number of senior-level Canadians working on behalf of
the UN to see that justice is served in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda. The
other three Canadians are Justice Jules Deschênes, a judge of the Appeal Chamber
of the Tribunals; Commander William Fenrick, the International Law Adviser to the
Prosecutor; and Mr. Al Breault, Chief Investigator for the Rwandan Tribunal.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Catherine Lappe
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
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