Canadian diplomat and lawyer Louise Arbour was born in 1947 in Montreal, Canada. The year 1970 was significant for her life and future career. The Canadian government promulgated a War Act, which immediately ended many freedoms of citizens. The law was a response to kidnappings by French-speaking separatists. Lawyer Dr Arbour became world news when, as a prosecutor at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, she confronted the much-sought-after former president Slobodan Milosevic about his crimes. Dr Arbour worked in the judiciary in Canada and joined the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1987. In 1996, she moved to The Hague, where Dr Arbour became chief prosecutor at the special tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda. In 1999, she was appointed judge at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Between 2004 and 2008, Dr Arbour again worked for the United Nations (UN). This time as High Commissioner for Human Rights. She was instrumental in getting the Yogyakarta provisions accepted. These dealt with the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Dr Arbour was widely criticised for her stance on the Ugandan issue and the 2006 conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. First, Dr Arbour refused to get involved in the issue of Israeli soldiers being held hostage. She stated that "every commander and administrator could be held personally responsible for criminal behaviour". In July 2008, a UN report contradicted that Dr Arbour would disadvantage democracies in her judgements and statements compared to dictator-ruled countries.