Secretary-General mourns death of Barbadian diplomat Oliver Jackman

Mourning the death of Oliver Jackman, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon today paid tribute to the veteran diplomat and jurist who was appointed in 1999 as the Special Representative to the Secretary-General on the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy.

“Throughout his career, Mr. Jackman embodied the spirit of the international civil servant, working not only for the United Nations but also as a judge of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said in a statement released in New York.

Mr. Jackman worked extensively in the field of human rights. Aside from being a judge to the human rights Court, to which he was elected to a six-year term in 1999, he served as a member of the Haitian Truth and Justice Commission from 1986 to 1993 and more recently as a member of the Barbados Social Justice Commission.

His career with the UN began in 1961 when he worked as Chief Information Officer in the UN operation in the Congo at the Economic Commission for Africa. From 1969 to 1971, he served as his country’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York.

“His contributions to the United Nations will always be remembered,” the statement said.