[1] He played a critical role in shaping the international humanitarian response to the Great Lakes Crisis at one of its most turbulent moments.

[2] On 18 August 2000, Comerford was found dead in his hotel room while on a mission, having been sent to the Congo ahead of 5,000 UN peacekeeping troops to assess structural damage caused by an occupying force of soldiers backed by neighbouring Rwanda.

He completed his doctorate in disaster management at the University of Bristol before getting an MBA at INSEAD (Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires) in Fontainebleau.

After graduating from INSEAD, Comerford worked with NGOs and UN organisations such as Oxfam, UNDP and UNHCR in hazardous regions, including Sudan, Liberia, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Rwanda and East Timor.

[3][8] A Kenyan government pathologist concluded from broken bones in his neck that he must have been murdered, whereas a report commissioned by the UNDP under Mark Malloch Brown said it could also have been suicide.

"[1] The UN's administrative tribunal criticised the department responsible for its "reckless and callous" treatment of Joe's wife and made clear that the case was "seriously mishandled".