A Kenyan has been appointed as the new President of the Executive Board of United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Macharia Kamau assumes his responsibilities immediately and will serve for one year. Kamau, who has has over 25 years experience, has been serving for the last two years as the Vice-President of the UNICEF Executive Board on behalf of Kenya and the African Group.
He is the Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kenya to the United Nations, New York, USA.
He succeeds Ambassador Jarmo Viinanen, the Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations in New York on behalf of the Western European Group, “Kamau has achieved tremendous success in many respects and he was able to oversee the implementation of key projects which saw alleviation of the suffering of many children in the continent of Africa, where most of his tour of duty was served,” the statement reads.
At the beginning of 2013, Kamau was also elected as the co-chair of the Open Working Group charged with the mandate of designing Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs after the expected expiry of the Millennium Development Goals – MDGs in 2015. He will serve in this capacity for two years (2013-2014). The other co-chair is Ambassador Csaba Korosi, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Hungary to the United Nations, New York.
Amb Kamau was also elected by State Parties as the President of the Bureau of the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and is expected to serve in this capacity on behalf of Kenya and Africa until 2014. The composition of the 2014 UNICEF Executive Board includes the 4 Vice-Presidents, namely, Bulgaria (Eastern Europe), Denmark (WEOG), Haiti (GRULAC), Pakistan (Asia) and 36 Bureau members, including 8 African countries represented by Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Egypt, Gambia, Ghana and Zambia.
