Khalida Khan sworn-in as judge at the International Criminal Tribunal

Judge Khalida Rachid Khan of Pakistan was sworn-in Friday at the International criminal Tribunal on Rwanda during a ceremony held in the northeastern Tanzanian town of Arusha, the tribunal reported.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed her to the position on 7 July.

Khan becomes the fourth woman judge out of 14 permanent judges of the tribunal. The other women are Andrésia Vaz of Senegal, Arlette Ramaroson of Madagascar and Inés Mónica
Weinberg de Roca of Argentina.

Khan was born on 25 September 1949. She began her legal career in 1974 as a civil judge in Peshawar, Pakistan. In 1978, she was promoted as senior civil judge in Peshawar. From 1981 to 1982 she worked as special judge in anti-corruption and special judge in anti-smuggling, customs and taxation Peshawar and Hazara Division. She was later appointed deputy secretary in the Law Department of the Government of North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, the tribunal said.

In 1994, she was elevated to the High Court of Peshawar, becoming the first Pakistani woman appointed to that position, the tribunal said. She was also the first woman in Pakistan to be appointed as district and sessions Judge.

Khan has participated in a wide range of international conferences, meetings and forums. She is a member of the International Association of Women Judges, USA, the tribunal said. She has also worked extensively to eradicate child labour in Pakistan and South Asia, it added.