The DepuTy high Commissioner
for human righTs
Kyung-wha Kang was appointed Deputy High Commissioner for
Human Rights in September 2006 and took up the position on
15 January 2007. Her appointment is at the level of Assistant
Secretary-General.
Before joining the United Nations, Ms. Kang, a national of
the Republic of Korea, was Director-General of International
Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of
the Republic, with a portfolio that covered a wide range of UN
issues, including human rights. She also served as Minister at
the Republic of Korea Mission to the United Nations in New
York and chaired the Commission on the Status of Women for
its forty-eighth session in 2004 and its forty-ninth session in
2005, which marked the tenth anniversary of the Fourth World
Conference on Women.
The high Commissioner for Human rigHts
Designed and printed by the Publishing Service, United Nations, Geneva — GE.08.13248 — February 2009 — 1,000 — HRC/NONE/2008/109
© UN photo
Navanethem Pillay was appointed
High Commissioner for Human
Rights by the United Nations
Secretary-General and approved
by the General Assembly, effective
1 September 2008.
From 2003 to 2008, Ms. Pillay, a SouthAfrican national, served as Judge
on the International Criminal Court
(ICC). She was elected Judge President
of the UN International Criminal Court Tribunal for Rwanda
(ICTR) in 1999, which she joined in 1995 having been elected
as Judge by the UN General Assembly; her four year term with
ICTR was renewed in 1998. Ms. Pillay participated in the ICTR’s
groundbreaking jurisprudence on rape as genocide and on issues
of freedom of speech and hate propaganda.
Navanethem Pillay was Attorney and Conveyancer on the High
Court of South Africa from 1967 to 1995 and was appointed Acting
Judge on the high Court of South Africa in 1995. The first woman
to start a law practice in Natal Province in South Africa in 1967,
she served as an attorney in the practice of law in criminal and
civil courts providing legal defense for opponents to apartheid.
In South Africa she co-founded the Advice Desk for the Abused.
She is also co-founder of Equality Now, an international Women’s
rights organization based in New York.
Ms. Pillay holds a BA and a LLB from Natal University South
Africa. She also holds a Master of Law and is Doctor of Juridical
Science from Harvard University.
The posT of high Commissioner
for human righTs
The post of High Commissioner for Human Rights was established
by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993 to promote
and protect the effective enjoyment by all people of all civil,
cultural, economic, political and social rights, including the
right to development . The General Assembly resolution held
that the High Commissioner should function as the UN official
with principal responsibility for global human rights efforts.
The High Commissioner is appointed by the UN SecretaryGeneral and approved by the General Assembly, with due
regard to geographical rotation. Appointments are at the level of
Under-Secretary-General, for a fixed term of four years, with the
possibility of one renewal for another fixed term of four years.
Navanethem Pillay was preceded by Ms. Louise Arbour (2004-
2008), Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello (2002-2003), Ms. Mary Robinson
(1997-2002) and Mr. José Ayala Lasso (1994-1997). Mr. Bertrand G.
Ramcharan was Acting High Commissioner from 2003-2004.
As the principal United Nations office mandated to promote and protect human rights for all, OHCHR leads global human rights efforts, and speaks out objectively in the face of human rights violations worldwide. The Office provides a forum for identifying, and developing responses to today's human rights challenges. We act as the principal focal point of human rights research, education, public information, and advocacy activities, while strengthening and mainstreaming human rights across the United Nations system.
ReplyDeleteThe OHCHR information kit is a public information tool composed of ten fact sheets which provide a general overview of the work of the Office, its relationship with international human rights mechanisms and its work across the world, among other aspects related to the mandate of OHCHR. The Kit is available for download in English and French.”
English
French
Who we are Qui sommes-nous?
What we do Nos activités
Making human rights a reality: the human rights mechanisms Faire des droits de l’homme une réalité : les mécanismes des droits de l’homme
Bringing human rights to the grassroots: OHCHR in the world Les droits de l’homme à l’échelon local : le HCDH dans le monde
Human rights priorities today Les priorités actuelles dans le domaine des droits de l’homme
Frequently asked questions Questions fréquentes
Where we are Où sommes-nous?
OHCHR structure Structure du HCDH
The High Commissioner for Human Rights La haut-commissaire aux droits de l’homme
Useful contacts Contacts utiles