Jacqueline O’Neill is Canada’s first Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security. Appointed by the Prime Minister in June 2019, her primary role is to advise Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence, and numerous other departments engaged in implementing Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.

Previously, Ambassador O’Neill was President of The Institute for Inclusive Security, a US-based organization that increased the inclusion of women in peace negotiations and related processes, including the reform of police and military organizations. Over 13 years at Inclusive Security, she supported the creation of national strategies and policy frameworks for more than 30 countries, NATO, the OSCE, and the United Nations. She also worked directly with coalitions of women leaders in Colombia, South Sudan, Sudan, Pakistan, and beyond. Prior to that, Ambassador O’Neill worked at the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sudan and at Khartoum’s Ahfad University for Women. Along with former Lt. General Roméo Dallaire, she helped found the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative to eliminate the use of children during conflict. She was also a policy advisor to Canada’s Secretary of State for the Asia-Pacific region.

Most recently, Ambassador O’Neill was a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Canada Institute, an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian International Council. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Alberta and a Master in Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

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