In June 1994, Martino demanded at the UN that a "safe haven" be created for Tutsi refugees in Rwanda in order to save over 30,000 lives in Kabgayi.

Martino was Pope John Paul II's official representative at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, and he had the task of defending the Church's anti-abortion teachings before a European-American bloc that strongly supported access to abortion.

In December 2003, reacting to U.S. treatment of Saddam Hussein, including the release of a video showing his teeth being inspected "like a cow", he said: "I felt pity to see this man destroyed.

"[11] On 6 November 2006, after Hussein had been sentenced to death, Martino said that "... punishing a crime with another crime – which is what killing for vengeance is – would mean that we are still at the point of demanding an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth..." He pleaded for clemency for Hussein and called for a peace conference aimed at solving all the major conflicts in the Middle East and reiterated his position that the invasion of Iraq by U.S.-led coalition was wrong.

[13] In November 2006, Martino called plans by the George W. Bush administration to construct an additional 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border "an inhumane program".

[16] On 14 June 2007, Martino urged Catholics to withhold donations from Amnesty International after the organization decided in April to advocate support for access to abortion in cases where pregnancy threatened a woman's life or was the result of rape or incest.

"[18] When the Israeli Foreign Ministry objected to the use of the phrase concentration camp, Vatican officials distanced themselves from Martino's remarks.

On 28 February 2009, Pope Benedict relieved Martino of the presidency of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, appointing Archbishop Antonio Maria Vegliò to succeed him.

[22] On 24 October 2009, Pope Benedict named Cardinal Peter Turkson to succeed Martino as president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

[23] In July 2010, Martino assumed the position of Honorary President of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, a Rome-based organisation established to promote human dignity "based on the recognition that man is made in the image and likeness of God".

[25] In November 2010, Martino was appointed by Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro as Grand Prior of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George.

[29][30] In letters dated 21 July 2017, the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda issued notice that Martino's 2014 appointment to the Order of the Nation had been annulled.