U.N. human rights commissioner steps down after four-year tenure

Former Canadian Supreme Court Justice Lousie Arbour on Monday left her post as the United Nations’ human rights commissioner, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported the same day.

Citing personal reasons, Arbour announced her retirement to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva in March. She added that the criticisms on her office from nations like the U.S. have, as the article puts it, “undermine[d] the credibility of her office and the entire U.N.”

While she has been commended for her work by many human rights organizations, Arbour drew pointed criticism for her staunch objections to the many questionable tactics employed in the American-led war on terror. Israel and its supporters also objected to Arbour’s outspoken criticism of the Jewish state after its 34-day war with Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006.

Before her position as U.N. human rights commissioner, Arbour was best known as a chief prosecutor for tribunals into the genocide in Rwanda and human rights abuses in Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

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