McAskie has been a part of multiple delegations to the United Nations. She was appointed deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in 1999. She has assisted in several relief efforts in Africa over her term. As coordinator, she visited
Ethiopia,
Eritrea, and
Kenya on 10 July 2000, to examine the effects of the
drought and to organize relief efforts. McAskie visited the
Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2003 to assess renewed fighting in
Ituri. From 2004 to April 2006, McAskie was the
Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of
the United Nations mission (ONUB) to
Burundi, and led ceasefire talks in the
Burundian Civil War. She was the first Canadian to lead a UN peacekeeping mission following the United Nations' switch to
complex missions. On 16 May 2006, McAskie was named assistant secretary-general for peacebuilding support. ==Awards==