The United Nations Ombudsman, Mr. Johnston Barkat of the United States, took office on 21 April 2008. As Ombudsman at the level of Assistant Secretary-General, he functions independently of any United Nations organ or official with direct access to the Secretary-General as needed.

An expert in mediation and conflict resolution, with an emphasis on organizational and cross-cultural negotiation, Mr. Barkat has previously worked with the United Nations as a negotiations instructor, as a consultant on ombudsman programmes and as an advisor on reforms to the Administration of Justice. For the past eleven years he served as the Ombudsman at Pace University, NY. He has also taught conflict resolution and mediation at the International Centre for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia University, NY, and has served as an instructor of management at various other colleges and graduate schools in the U.S.

Using alternative dispute resolution, Mr. Barkat has worked for over fifteen years as a mediator in New York State Courts and has served on the board of the Westchester Mediation Centre. He also served as chair of the ombudsman committees for both the American Bar Association and the Association for Conflict Resolution. A past president of the International Ombudsman Association, Mr. Barkat subsequently has served as chair of its International Committee. He is a senior fellow with the Institute for Collaborative Engagement, and a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University, where he completed research on strategies to create negotiation ripeness in seemingly intractable conflicts. He also holds an M.P.A. in government from Pace University and a B.A. in psychology from The King’s College.

Mr. Barkat has been selected to head an expanded and internationally-decentralized Office of the United Nations Ombudsman that serves both the Secretariat and funds and programmes. The Office includes a Mediation Division in New York as well as regional branches in Geneva, Vienna, Nairobi, Bangkok, Santiago, Khartoum and Kinshasa.

THE FIRST UN OMBUDSMAN, MS. M. PATRICIA DURRANT (JULY 2002 TO JULY 2007)