Arvind Narrain Geneva Director at ARC International Arvind Narrain works on advocacy for LGBTI rights at the international level. As ARC’s Director of Research and Practice he is currently involved in advocacy at the Human Rights Council and in advocacy around the Yogyakarta Principles. As a lawyer he has been involved with litigation and advocacy around the anti sodomy law in India.
On 1st September, 2018, Michelle Bachelet took office as the head of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) at a momentous time in world history. The post World War II consensus on universal human rights is under attack as never before from authoritarians of every stripe and hue from across the world. In this difficult time, what can the High Commissioner of Human Rights do?
Bachelet has illustrious predecessors who have given new directions to the office of the OHCHR. When it comes to the question of understanding and expanding the role of the OHCHR, her two immediate predecessors have been trail blazers.
Navi Pillai from South Africa -who was the OHCHR Chief from 2008 to 2014- had a distinguished history as the first non white woman to begin a law practise in apartheid South Africa and as a lawyer who defended those charged by the apartheid state. Her history of a deep human rights engagement was reflected in her term in office. She followed through on the commitment to universal human rights by repeatedly speaking up for the rights of many despised and scorned minorities including the LGBTI community. It was under Navi Pillai’s tenure that the OHCHR began a remarkable campaign on LGBTI rights titled the “Free and Equal Campaign’, which took human rights from its textual articulations to a more popular audience using innovative videos on social media. In fact a video on gay rights using the thematic of Bollywood became the most watched UN video of all time. Navi Pillai was unswerving in her dedication to speaking up for ‘unpopular minorities’ and a pioneer in putting the question of LGBTI rights firmly on the agenda of the UN system.
Prince Zeid al-Hussein of Jordan -who succeeded Navi Pillai and is Bachelet’s immediate predecessor- is a scion of the Jordanian royal family as well as a former ambassador of Jordan. While he was the first Asian, Muslim and Arab to be the OHCHR Chief, he did not have the inspiring activist credentials of Navi Pillai. However, Zeid quickly showed that he was not one to be bound by a narrow conception of a diplomatic role, but instead fearlessly took human rights to a global audience. His tenure overlapped with the rise of Trump and in particular his willingness to critique the standardless actions of authoritarian leaders, bespoke a fearlessness and ability to speak truth to power. Read more via ARC International