Justice Louise Arbour is an internationally renowned judge and lawyer. She previously  served as the Commissioner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and as Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. She garnered international renown for her role as Chief Prosecutor during the International Criminal Tribunals relating to war crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. She was also responsible for the first prosecution of sexual assault as a crime against humanity. She now serves as President and CEO of the International Crisis Group, an anti-conflict non-governmental organization that researches conflict issues and engages in humanitarian advocacy. She holds honorary degrees from 40 universities and in 2008, she was the recipient of the United Nations Human Rights Prize. She has also been awarded a Woman Groundbreaker by the Open Society Institute, the French Legion of Honor, the Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Freedom from Fear Award, many awards for distinguished Canadian leadership, and was inducted to the International Hall of Fame at the International Women’s Forum.

Arbour earned her B.A. from the Collège Regina Assumpta in Montréal and LL.L. from the Université de Montréal.

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