Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has had a distinguished career as a lawyer, academic, and judge. She served on the Supreme Court of Ontario, the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada, and she made history as the courageous and determined Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Since accepting the role of High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2004, she has implemented reforms of her Office and, among other concerns, has encouraged the fast-tracking of the new U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Mme Arbour was born in Montreal.