Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary, Ambassador Macharia Kamau, has been appointed as a member of the United Nations (UN) 7th Peace Building Fund Advisory Group.
UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, announced the appointment on Thursday, August 25.
Kamau was appointed alongside nine other members to replace the outgoing 6th Advisory Group – whose term expired in March this year.
The group provides advice and oversight on the Peacebuilding Fund’s allocations, programming and policies as part of the efforts to sustain peace.
According to a statement from the UN, the 10-member group will be tasked to consolidate opportunities for peacebuilding amid the rise of geo-political conflicts in the world.
“Conflict and political turbulence around the globe illustrate that peacebuilding cannot be put on hold while the world grapples with the pandemic,” read the UN statement in part.
“Violent conflicts are on the rise, fragilities are growing due to the ongoing health and financial effects of the pandemic, and other risks, including a global food security crisis, have expanded.”
Kamau has been serving as Kenya’s Foreign Affairs PS since his appointment in February 2018.
Prior to his appointment, Kamau had worked in various capacities at the UN. He was appointed as Special Envoy of the Secretary General on El Niño and Climate in 2016 by then UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon.
His mandate as an envoy was to raise awareness of the threats caused by El Nino and drought across the globe. Kamau was also tasked with the role of mobilising responses to the threats as well as enhancing preparedness for such threats.
Ambassador Kamau also served as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the UN since 2011. He was stationed at the UN Headquarters in New York. Among the notable roles at the UN is his contribution to the development of the Sustainable Development Goals. He also served as the co-facilitator of the team that conceived the 2030 Agenda.
Kamau also had stints as the Chair of the Peace Building Commission, President of the United Nations International Children’s Education Funds (UNICEF), and Kenya’s Representative to the United Nations HABITAT.
Other members of the advisory group are Emmanuel Asante (Ghana), Jingye Cheng (China), Kjersti Dale (Norway), Mohamed Edrees (Egypt), Lise Filiatrault (Canada), Sara Pantuliano (United Kingdom), Stéphane Rey (Switzerland), Marriët Schuurman (The Netherlands), and Almut Wieland-Karimi (Germany).
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Source-https://www.kenyans.co.ke/
Kenya’s Foreign Affairs PS Amb. Macharia Kamau Lands Top UN Role
