Francis Martin O'Donnell, KC*SG, KM, KCMCO, is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the Slovak Republic.[1][2][3] He is a retired former UN official who served most recently as the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations system in Ukraine, from 30 September 2004 until 31 March 2009, and previously in the same capacity in Serbia-Montenegro. He worked in UN service for 32 years.[4]
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He was born in 1954 in Dublin, Ireland, son of Patrick Denis O'Donnell, who served briefly as a United Nations military observer with UNTSO, the oldest UN peace-keeping operation in the world.[5]
He is an honours graduate in Economics and Philosophy from the National University of Ireland at University College Dublin, and has also read International Law and Diplomacy at postgraduate level in Geneva, and qualified in Disaster Management at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[6] In the summer of 1997, he was the subject of a two-page feature as a successful graduate in the inaugural summer 1997 issue of "UCD Connections" (University College Dublin, his alma-mater), and more recently in the CoRD magazine in Belgrade.
Since 1976, when he started as a United Nations Volunteer in Sudan, he has also served the UN in Lesotho, Mauritania, Niger, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States of America, and recently in Serbia & Montenegro. He also undertook short missions in over 40 other countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, North America, and the Caribbean.[7]
At the end of the Cold War, he was requested in late 1991 to launch a rapid response capability for deploying UN Volunteers (UNV) to UN emergency operations worldwide. He overhauled recruitment methods, and oversaw the rapid deployment of thousands of UN volunteers to crisis zones, where they became the front-line link between relief and aid delivery agencies such as UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP, UNDP, and WHO and suffering war victims, refugees and internal displacees. The effort saved lives during the years 1992-1994 in Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, and many other war-torn countries during the raging inter-ethnic tragedies that succeeded the Cold War's proxy conflicts.[8] True life stories from the field featured in Volunteers Against Conflict, a book praised by former Presidents Nelson Mandela, Mary Robinson, Jimmy Carter, and Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum, and written by volunteers recruited under his leadership.[9]
Based later in Turkey, he helped assure the humanitarian corridor through Turkey into northern Iraq after the first Gulf War from 1994–1996, and coordinated earthquake relief in Turkey itself.[10] Subsequently he held a senior emergency management role in UNDP headquarters in New York, and later lead a systemic governance team for crisis countries, developing a new policy approach to tackle root causes for preventing crisis in vulnerable countries.[11]
In 2000, he played an important role in leading missions that helped the late Sergio Vieira de Mello lay the foundations for public administration capacity in East Timor before independence. He organised a landmark workshop with the Timorese leadership on 1 March 2000, leading to a reform of the UN mission by the Security Council.[12] O'Donnell organised the joint workshop between UNTAET and the Timorese leadership, the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), on 1 March 2000 to tease out a new strategy, and identify institutional needs. The Timorese delegation was led by Jose Ramos Horta. The outcome was an agreed blueprint for a joint administration with executive powers, including leaders of the CNRT. Further details were worked out in a conference in May 2000. The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in East Timor, Sérgio Vieira de Mello, presented the new blueprint to a donor conference in Lisbon,[13] on 22 June 2000, and to the UN Security Council on 27 June 2000.[14] On 12 July 2000, the NCC adopted a regulation establishing a Transitional Cabinet composed of four East Timorese and four UNTAET representatives.[15] The revamped joint administration successfully laid the institutional foundations for independence, and on 27 September 2002, East Timor joined the United Nations.
In late 2000, he landed in Belgrade[16] [10] in the immediate aftermath of the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević, and supported the new democratic forces in bringing stability to the remnant of the former Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), preventing nascent conflict with marginalised ethnic Albanians in the Preševo Valley of southern Serbia, launching reintegration programmes, promoting human rights, and supporting reform of governance institutions [11] [12] [13], and bolstering civil society.[17] In 2002, he was appointed by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as Resident Coordinator of the UN system [14] [15][16] in Yugoslavia/Serbia-Montenegro, and later again in Ukraine in October 2004, just before the so-called Orange Revolution. He also contributed to housing sector policy in south-east Europe.[18]
He presented his credentials to the President of Ukraine on 16 November 2004. As Resident Coordinator, he was the designated representative of the UN Secretary-General and lead the UN Country Team of UN agencies [17] and related bodies and was primus inter pares amongst several such accredited UN system chefs de mission diplomatique.[19] The 2007 Ukrainian political crisis, which lasted from April to June 2007 was part of political stand off between coalition and opposition factions of Verkhovna Rada that led to the unscheduled Ukrainian parliamentary election, 2007, and started on April 2, 2007 as a culmination of long lasting crisis and degradation of the parliamentary coalition when the President of Ukraine (Viktor Yushchenko) attempted to dissolve the parliament. The following day, in light of impending political unrest, O'Donnell as United Nations Resident Coordinator, and following an earlier call to deepen democracy and liberalize the economy [18], exceptionally issued an advisory statement of principles on behalf of the Country Team [19] (followed by a visit by former Estonian President Arnold Rüütel on 23 April [20]).
O'Donnell called for greater awareness of the Holocaust[21] [20] and active tolerance and decried discrimination against Jews,[21] Muslims, migrants and minorities in many countries.[22] He was also instrumental in tackling racism and xenophobia in Ukraine, by taking the leadership in organizing regular consultations and meetings with the representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations and jointly bringing this issue to the attention of Government.[23] An ambassadorial working group was formed[24] and a Diversity Initiative, a coordination group under the leadership of the IOM and UNHCR, was established to provide a forum for anti-discrimination policies – with the overall objective to create a consolidated response to racism and xenophobia in Ukraine. As a result of concerted efforts, the Government stepped up its response to this challenge; an official repudiation of racism by President Viktor Yuschenko issued; the Government adopted an Action Plan on Counteraction to Racism; and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) established a special unit to counteract xenophobia and intolerance.[25] Policy advice was provided and best practices from European countries was shared with Government. There was a wide-scale information campaign, including broadcasting of public service announcements.[26]
O'Donnell also oversaw the establishment and implementation of the large EU Border Assistance Mission between Moldova and Ukraine, which brought about substantial improvements in border management, including a curtailing of human trafficking, illicit weapons and other contraband smuggling, and corruption.[27] The EUBAM mission remains implemented by UNDP and funded by the European Commission. He also coordinated UNDP cooperation under the BUMAD programme with Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus, to reduce illicit drug traffic.[28] O’Donnell drew attention to the negative impact of endemic corruption in Ukraine, on cooperation with its development partners.[29] He also launched a major programme for women's and children's rights, in collaboration with the EC, Council of Europe, and ILO.[30]
The First Lady of Ukraine, Kateryna Yushchenko, in her farewell,[31] thanked Mr. O’Donnell for his work in Ukraine and cooperation with her Ukraine 3000 Foundation. She credited him that UN institutions repeatedly rendered support to the Foundation’s initiatives related to education and culture. Also in 2007, the Ukraine 3000 International Charitable Foundation joined the United Nations Global Compact.
Since the early 1990s, he was actively involved in promoting global peace services [22] and inter-faith dialogue, with World Peacemakers (see [23]) and the United States Agency for International Development, Global Alliance of Peace Services, the Life and Peace Institute (see [24]), the Swedish Christian Council, Pax Christi,[32] International Alert, and others.
He has also addressed public and expert audiences, and delivered keynote addresses at several international conferences. He delivered an address (see [25]) to the XXII International Congress on the Family in Kiev, Ukraine (see [26]), and more recently was guest speaker at the Conference for Young Christian Professionals held in Rome on 28–30 November 2008, where he addressed the subject of Leadership Challenges in the Service of Society.[33] The conference was targeted at "socially active young people, those who are not afraid to discuss the challenges and problems of modern life and who would like to find solutions in the spirit of Pope John Paul II’s call to ‘build a civilisation of love’, i.e. young people between the ages of 25- 35, in particular the peers of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II". Several of his papers have been published and he has contributed chapters to several published works on peace and governance issues.
He has appeared on national TV and radio programmes in several developing countries and in France, Italy, Turkey, as well as on Irish RTE, UK Radio-4 (see [27]), KRTV (see [28]) and FOX NEWS (US) (see [29]), and on the BBC and CNN, Serbian and Montenegrin TV channels (RTS, B92, Beta), and Ukrainian TV as well as in various print media.
The initiative to create an Irish-Arab Society was proposed by O’Donnell in November 1968, and taken up by a group of Irish and Arab friends.[34] It was the principal advocate of the Palestinian cause in Ireland during the 1970s, and 1980s. It also played a key advisory and facilitative role in promoting Irish-Arab trade and cultural links, and with its support diplomatic relations were established with 12 states in the Middle East and North Africa between 1974 and 1976.[35]
At the invitation of the Irish Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) and Foreign Minister in early 1995, he contributed towards the first White Paper on Irish Foreign Policy (see [30]). His monograph is lodged in the National Archives of Ireland, and acknowledged in the published White Paper (1996). He is member of the Institute of International and European Affairs (see [31]).
His analysis of the historical evolution of the law affecting incorporeal hereditaments as elements of intangible cultural heritage (see [32]) has also been acknowledged by the Law Reform Commission [33] in Ireland, during its consideration of the repeal of 150 statutes going back to 1285 (see [34]). Since mid-2006, the consequent Bill on Land Reform & Conveyancing has progressed in the Oireachtas, and been adopted into law, as the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act, Number 27 of 2009 [35], with such hereditaments preserved as personal rights when held in gross.
On his departure from Ukraine, the Parliamentary Ombudsman of Ukraine, Ms. Nina Karpachova also bestowed the Ombudsman’s Medal of Honour on O’Donnell for his defense of human rights in that country [36]
O'Donnell holds the Cross of Honour of Jerusalem [37], bestowed on him by the Custodia Franciscalis Terra Sanctae in 1965.
He was decreed into the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great, by decree 1566/ON of 10 November 2007, by virtue of which Pope Benedict XVI conferred on him the dignity of papal Knight Commander with Silver Star, a dignity assumed upon his retirement from the UN.
He is also a Knight Commander of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George[38], which shares motto: In Hoc Signo Vinces, inscribed on his coat of arms the main motif of which is a cross-crosslet.[36]
O'Donnell is also a Knight of Malta[39] (member of the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta), and has been accredited[37] as the Order's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Slovak Republic.[38][39]