By Eelaventhan Manickavasakar –
Eelaventhan Manickavasakar
UN Human Rights Council Commissioner Navanethem Pillay completed her six years of dedicated service on 31-8-2014.
An Indian Tamil origin born in South Africa to a poor family. She rose to the heights of Judicial service as the first coloured supreme court Judge.
She was the best choice for Kofi Annan to serve as the Human Rights Commissioner being in charge of the UN Human Rights Council located in Geneva.
While in service she exhibited courage fearlessness and forthrightness without any favour or fervour. She kept vigilance on all the members of Human Rights Council and monitored the rowdy states which indulged in Human Rights violations. During her tenure of service Syria and Sri Lanka found themselves in the docks of accused. The war crimes and crimes against Humanity committed by thesee states prompted the setting up of UN independant commission of inquiry. Preliminary reports and findings justified further investigations which Navanethem Pillay promptly initiated. And they are currently proceeding with urgency causing worries to Sri Lanka.
Navi Pillay
Her bold decisions in these matters have incensed the Syrian and Sri Lankan dictatorial regimes who in desperation have resorted to mud slinging and slandering.
Syria called her “A Tamil Tigress” so also Sri Lanka which accused her of having received monetary benefits from the LTTE which is no more existing according to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka also resorted to disgraceful and disgusting behaviour with one minister proposing marriage to her.
These antics did neither deter nor disturb her from carrying out her entrusted duties and functions. She never hesitated to call spade a spade.
In this respect during her recent months of service, she condemned the Islamic state terrorists for their inhuman killings in Iraq and Syria and also Israel which went on a spree of destruction and killings of civilians in Gaza Strip.
She defended the rights of civilians without any bias race or religion. She has thus left an indeliable impression on the Human Rights Council and also established precedents for her successors to follow her bold and impartial path.
Her exposure of Sri Lankan crimes and atrocities again the ethnic Tamils has given for the war victims a ray of hope for justice, accountability and solace. We wish her all the success in her future endeavours and hope she will continue her crusade against Human Rights abusers worldwide.
We also seize this opportunity to welcome Mr Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al- Hussein, the new chief of Human Rights Council to work more vigrously in carrying out the functions of Commissioner and the Council while hauling up rogue states and protecting the citizens world wide.
As a seasoned diplomat championing Human Rights, there is no doubt Prince Hussein will live up to the expectations and stand firm against the past Human Rights violators and prevent future violations.
Peace Lover / September 4, 2014
ah so now K A Sumanasekera will be able to sleep peacefully and Dr Mervin can also pursue his marriage proposal without the fear of breaking protocol
/
Indra / September 4, 2014
The Cost to Mrs Pillay can be summarized as corrupt financial benefits from:
1. The USA and the West, by faulting Israel
2. The entire terrorist outfit in the Middle East.
3. Very rich dictators of the world including from Sri Lanka who would have paid handsomely to buy her “support”.
Sinhala fascists please keep your two cents worth; don’t say she was paid by the Tamil diaspora! That’s shit. She is neither a Swamy nor a Kamalesh Sharma! Nor was she a compulsive sycophant like G.L.Peiris, who addresses a thief like Namal Rajapakse as “Sir”.
Her soul was not for sale. May God bless and protect her!
/
mechanic / September 4, 2014
Navanethem Pillay, Champion And Defender Of Human Rights! My foot.
/
Sarah / September 5, 2014
What happened to ur foot…go and c doctor
/
Tamil from the north / September 6, 2014
Hey mechanic, is your foot in your mouth again?
/
burt / September 7, 2014
“My foot”
Why what happened to your foot? Did you drop a hammer on it?
Pillay was an honest professional with a backbone who stood tall while Ban Ki Moon tried his best to cover-up, I still don’t think he was corrupt but incompetent and lack of a backbone. This is not just with SL but it was the same story whether it was ME, Africa or Europe. This gave opportunity to corrupt Sharma.
/
Ajith / September 4, 2014
A brave lady who stood firm on Human Right Violations.
/
Jim softy / September 5, 2014
The article is written by [Edited out].
The comments made cheering this tamil woman, wife of another South African terrorist is praised by the LTTE -rump.
/
Tamil from the north / September 6, 2014
Hey Jim Shitty, do us all a favour, why don’t you go and wrap a rope around your neck and jump in a cess pool?
/
justice / September 5, 2014
A brave incorruptible lady who was a famous judge in her homeland and abroad, brought to bear her talent and expertise in the job given to her by the UN without any bias towards any nation.
I wish her happy retirement.
/
Know All / September 5, 2014
It seems to me that the lady achieved much before she became head of the UNHRC. Her record in battling the odds in her native South Africa and, despite all the obstacles in her path, reaching the top there as a judge, is impressive and worthy of applause.
But then, it seems she lost it all when she came to the UNHRC. Maybe, she came to this job with a huge inferiority complex, born of the disadvantages she had to suffer in SA, and now determined to ‘show them’ how good she was. Or, maybe, what we saw here was another demonstration of the Peter principle – the theory that you are only good enough to reach the top of your present level but not good enough at the next level.
The UN job perhaps overawed her. Perhaps, some of her bosses at the UN saw her as a willing and eager official to do the dirty work for them. Ban ki Moon must have been delighted with somebody of her make up to give her the UNHRC role. But one way or another she was not a great success. In particular in regard to Sri Lanka she seems to have demonstrated an unholy zeal and an uncompromising attitude to punish the government.
This was in stark contrast with, say, countries like Israel whose human rights records are hardly the stuff to cheer about. Then again, maybe, the lady was street wise enough to know not to pick a quarrel with an adversary whom she could not hope to beat. Given her background, she will not have missed learning some of life’s hard lessons at a very practical level, and we know that sort of knowledge never deserts you.
/