The Order and the United Nations

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta has maintained a permanent mission to facilitate diplomatic relations with the United Nations since 1994 when it was granted Observer Status with the international organization. The Permanent Observer Mission exists, like all the diplomatic initiatives of the Order of Malta, to support and extend the humanitarian goals of the Order of Malta and its members.

The neutral, impartial, and non-political nature of the Order of Malta permits for humanitarian intervention in a timely and valuable nature as well as for a welcoming presence amongst fellow members of the United Nations. Diplomats assist in ensuring the cooperation of particular countries or multilateral agencies in the Order of Malta’s effective delivery of aid and personnel into what are often the least inviting of circumstances.

There are currently 110 countries with which the Order has diplomatic relations, and all are represented at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. The United Nations is an essential arena for an active Order of Malta presence.

The Ambassador

Ambassador Paul Beresford-Hill, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, is a distinguished international educator who holds postgraduate degrees from both Oxford University, UK, and Columbia University in New York.  He has enjoyed faculty appointments at both institutions.  He is currently the Director General of the Mountbatten Institute, a business school which specializes in international training and internships.  He is also the Chairman of the English Speaking Union of the United States.  He was previously Headmaster of the Anglo-American International School in New York, and also served as Principal of the Bangkok Patana School, the British International School in Thailand. 

While at Oxford he was a Research Associate in the Department of Education and Senior Member of Wadham College.  Ambassador Beresford-Hill is currently a Visiting Professor in the School of Business at St. Mary’s University, London, UK.  He is a trustee of the Lehman College Foundation, part of the City University of New York, and served as Chairman of the Foundation of Mary Immaculate College,  Limerick, Ireland from 2010-2015.

In 2018 Ambassador Beresford-Hill was honoured by Queen Elizabeth with an appointment as honorary Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his contribution to international education and British American cultural relations.  The Ambassador is married to Kathryn Elizabeth and they have two grown sons.

He was appointed Permanent Observer of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the United Nations in New York in June 2019.

For more information please click here to visit the Permanent Observer Mission of the Order of Malta to the United Nations website.