Ian Martin (born 10 August 1946) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fr ...

/advisor and sometime

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

official. His most recent UN assignment was as the

Special Representative of the Secretary-General A Special Representative of the Secretary-General is a highly respected expert who has been appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to represent them in meetings with heads of state on critical human rights issues. The representativ ...

and Head of the

United Nations Support Mission in Libya The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) is a United Nations (UN) advanced mission in Libya, created in the aftermath of the Libyan Civil War. UNSMIL is a political mission, not a military mission. The main elements of its mandate def ...

. From 2015 to 2018 he was Executive Director of Security Council Report.

Early life

Martin was educated at Brentwood School in

Brentwood, Essex Brentwood is a town in the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the East of England. It is in the London commuter belt, situated 20 miles (30 km) east-north-east of Charing Cross and close by the M25 motorway. In 2017, the pop ...

and graduated from

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican m ...

with

first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variat ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...

. Afterwards, he was a graduate student in

development economics Development economics is a branch of economics which deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

for a year. From 1969 to 1972, Martin worked for the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the dea ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

. In 1971 while in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

, he witnessed the beginning of Bangladesh's

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which resi ...

. After returning to the United Kingdom, Martin worked with the Redbridge Community Relations Council in London then served five years as the General Secretary of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants followed by three years as the General Secretary of the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The F ...

. He was a Labour Party Councillor in the London Borough of Redbridge from 1978 to 1982.

Amnesty International

Martin's earlier work on the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

led to him become Head of the Asia Region in the Research Department of Amnesty International in 1985. On 1 October 1986, he became

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derive ...

of Amnesty International, a post he held until October 1992. The number of members, supporters, and subscribers to the organization nearly doubled in size during Martin's tenure as secretary-general. Martin headed Amnesty International missions to Israel and the Occupied Territories, Uganda, Bahrain, Kuwait, Republic of Korea, Argentina, Austria, Egypt, Bangladesh, Cuba, Philippines, Hungary, Mozambique, USSR, Syria, Pakistan, Sudan, Jordan, Yemen, Colombia, Peru, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tunisia and India. The

Human Rights Now! Human Rights Now! was a worldwide tour of twenty benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place over six weeks in 1988. Held not to raise funds but to increase awareness of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on i ...

and

A Conspiracy of Hope A Conspiracy of Hope was a short tour of six benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place in the United States during June 1986. The purpose of the tour was not to raise funds but rather to increase awareness of human rig ...

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

s took place during Martin's leadership. Martin's resignation as Secretary-General of Amnesty International was discussed in Stephen Hopgood's 2006 book '' Keepers of the Flame: Understanding Amnesty International''. According to Hopgood, Martin's decision was partially due to conflict with the chairman of Amnesty's International Executive Committee,

Peter Duffy Peter Duffy QC (25 August 1954 – 5 March 1999) was a British barrister. Educated at Wimbledon College, London, he read law at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he received a first class degree. He went on to Queen Mary College, Lon ...

. After leaving AI, he became a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

United Nations

Martin has held a number of senior positions with the United Nations and other international organizations. While working at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, he was asked to serve as Director of Human Rights and Deputy Executive Director of the UN/ OAS International Civilian Mission in Haiti. After leaving Haiti, Martin was named Chief of United Nations Human Rights Field Operation in Rwanda from 1995 to 1996. Martin was appointed Special Adviser on Human Rights Field Operations to the High Commissioner on Human Rights in 1998, then Deputy High Representative for Human Rights in the Office of the

High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, were created in 1995 immediately after the signing of the Dayton Agreement which ended the 1992–1995 Bos ...

from 1998 to 1999. During the

United Nations Mission in East Timor The United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) was established by Security Council Resolution 1246 on 11 June 1999 for a period up to 31 August 1999. By Security Council Resolution 1257 of 3 August UNAMET was extended to 30 September 1999. ...

that garnered worldwide attention in 1999, Martin served as Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the East Timor Popular Consultation. From 2000 to 2001 he was appointed Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in the

United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) was established by the United Nations Security Council in July 2000 to monitor a ceasefire in the border war that began in 1998 between Ethiopia and Eritrea. First military troops Neth ...

. In 2006, he served as

Special Envoy of the Secretary-General A Special Envoy of the Secretary-General (SESG) is a senior United Nations official appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to deal with a set of specific issues. Examples include the SESGs on Children affected by Armed Conflict, on HIV/A ...

for

Timor-Leste East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-wes ...

Nepal

From 2005 to 2006, Martin led the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nat ...

in Nepal. In October 2005, the government of King Gyanendra put in place a restrictive media ordinance which resulted in Martin's office releasing a statement decrying it as "violat nginternational human rights standards". Martin also held the position of Personal Representative of the Secretary-General in Nepal for support to the peace process, 2006–2007, and Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of

United Nations Mission in Nepal The United Nations Mission in Nepal or UNMIN was a special political mission in Nepal, established by the UN Security Council in January 2007 through resolution 174040 (2007) to assist in implementing key aspects of the Comprehensive Peace Agreem ...

, 2006–2009.

Sri Lanka

During the Sri Lankan Civil War, Martin was appointed by the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam as human rights adviser to the peace process and involved in peace talks. Talks were suspended in 2003 before the two parties approved an agreement on human rights drafted by Martin.

Gaza investigation and WikiLeaks

In 2009, Martin was appointed to head an independent United Nations Headquarters Board of Inquiry by

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of the Un ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...

in order to investigate nine separate incidents during the 2008–2009 Gaza War involving deaths, injuries or damage at U.N. facilities. The Board's report, a summary of which was released on 5 May 2009, concluded that seven separate incidents were the result of firing by the Israeli Defence Forces, but found no evidence that U.N. facilities had been used to launch attacks against the IDF. The Board also recommended that the U.N. further investigate violations of international humanitarian law by those on both sides of the conflict: Israeli forces, Hamas, and other Palestinian militants. In April 2011,

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...

released documents indicating that

United States Ambassador to the United Nations The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nation ...

Susan Rice Susan Elizabeth Rice (born November 17, 1964) is an American diplomat, policy advisor, and public official serving as Director of the United States Domestic Policy Council since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Rice served as the 27th U. ...

contacted Ban on 4 May 2009 and successfully pressured him into rejecting Martin's recommendation for the far-reaching investigation. The

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

had by then redefined the scope of the investigation it had mandated and established the

United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, also known as the Goldstone Report, was a United Nations fact-finding mission established in April 2009 pursuant to Resolution A/HRC/RES/S-9/1 of the United Nations Human Rights Counc ...

headed by

Richard Goldstone Richard Joseph Goldstone (born 26 October 1938) is a South African former judge. After working for 17 years as a commercial lawyer, he was appointed by the South African government to serve on the Transvaal Supreme Court from 1980 to 1989 and t ...

Libya

Martin was named Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Post-Conflict Planning for Libya in April 2011 and was responsible for coordinating various agencies, funds, and programmes of the United Nations as well as consulting with the

International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. The IOM w ...

and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

. During this work in Libya, he visited Benghazi and consulted the

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council of Libya ( ar, المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي '), sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, was the ''de facto'' government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan Civil War ...

. Martin was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya from 11 September 2011 until 17 October 2012 when he was succeeded by

Tarek Mitri Tarek Mitri ( ar, طارق متري; born 16 September 1950) is a Lebanese university professor, independent politician and former government minister. Early life and education Mitri was born on 16 September 1950. He has a PhD. in political sci ...

. With

Georg Charpentier Georg Charpentier (born in El Salvador, on 11 August 1956) currently serves as United Nations Deputy Special Representative and Resident Coordinator in Libya. He was appointed to this position by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 1 ...

as his Deputy, he led a staff of 200 tasked to assist with a range of duties including electoral assistance and police training. On 10 May 2012 Martin told the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

that there were credible reports of loyalists to toppled leader

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by '' The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spelli ...

being mistreated and even tortured to death in detention centres under the transitional government's control. In April 2012, unidentified individuals threw a bomb at his convoy as it was travelling through Benghazi. No one was wounded. On 8 August 2012 Martin was present in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in t ...

as the National Transitional Council handed over power to the

General National Congress The General National Congress or General National Council (GNC; ar, المؤتمر الوطني العام, Berber: Agraw Amuran Amatay) was the legislative authority of Libya for two years following the end of the First Libyan Civil War. It ...

. In 2022, he published ''All Necessary Measures? The United Nations and International Intervention in Libya''.

Other

In 2003, he was given an honorary doctorate by the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the ancient arms attributed to the Kingdom of Es ...

. Martin was also Vice President of the

International Center for Transitional Justice The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) was founded in 2001 as a non-profit organization dedicated to pursuing accountability for mass atrocity and human rights abuse through transitional justice mechanisms. ICTJ officially ope ...

from 2002 to 2005. He has lectured on human rights at universities including

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

and his writings include ''Self-Determination in East Timor: the United Nations, the Ballot, and International Intervention''.

Views

Martin has supported the

International Commission of Jurists The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is an international human rights non-governmental organization. It is a standing group of 60 eminent jurists—including senior judges, attorneys and academics—who work to develop national and inte ...

's conclusion that war crimes and acts of genocide had been committed by the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

and its collaborators during the Bangladesh Liberation War. In supporting a trial for war crimes by the International Crimes Tribunal, he has voiced the opinion that the process must be free of political pressures. Martin is opposed to the death penalty and has campaigned against its use worldwide.

References

External links

Interview with

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazee ...

Interview with

International Peace Institute The International Peace Institute (IPI, formerly the International Peace Academy) is an independent non-profit lobby group based in New York (beside the headquarters of the United Nations, with which IPI works closely). The institute has regiona ...

Interview with UN News Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Ian 1946 births Living people Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Amnesty International people English human rights activists Harvard University alumni Kennedy Scholarships British officials of the United Nations Presidents of the Cambridge Union General Secretaries of the Fabian Society Members of the Fabian Society Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs Councillors in the London Borough of Redbridge Special Representatives of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Special Envoys of the Secretary-General of the United Nations