description Navanethem Pillay Overview
Navanethem Pillay is a South African lawyer and jurist who served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014. Of Indian Tamil descent, she grew up in Durban during the apartheid era and became the first woman to open a legal practice in the province of Natal in 1967. Her international judicial career includes serving as a judge on the International Criminal Court and as the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
help Navanethem Pillay FAQ
What role did Navanethem Pillay play in defining rape as genocide?
As an ICTR judge, Pillay sat in the Akayesu case, whose 1998 judgment recognized that sexual violence could constitute an act of genocide when committed with genocidal intent. The decision became a landmark in international criminal law.
Which international courts did Navi Pillay serve on?
She served at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, becoming its president, and later became a judge of the International Criminal Court. Before those appointments, she was the first non-white woman appointed to South Africa's High Court.
When was Pillay the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights?
The UN General Assembly approved her appointment in July 2008, and she took office that September. She served as High Commissioner until 2014.
How did apartheid shape Pillay's legal career?
Pillay grew up and trained as a lawyer under South Africa's apartheid system, where both race and sex restricted professional opportunities. Her Durban practice represented political prisoners and challenged detention and torture.
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