Activities of Secretary-General in Kenya, 27-28 June
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, flew on Friday, 27 June, from Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to Nairobi, Kenya, for the first United Nation Environment Assembly in Nairobi.
At the closing session of the Assembly, the UN Environment Programme’s governing body and the highest-level global platform for environmental policymaking, the Secretary-General said that the meeting marked a coming of age for environmental governance. He said the Environment Assembly had the power — and the responsibility — to promote a global transformation of attitude and practice. (See Press Release SG/SM/15981.)
The Secretary-General then proceeded, alongside President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, to a dinner hosted by the Government of Kenya with participating Environment Ministers and Permanent Representatives.
On Saturday, 28 June, the Secretary-General had a working breakfast with the United Nations country team in Kenya. He then held a bilateral meeting with President Kenyatta, during which he expressed his solidarity with the people of Kenya in light of recent terrorist incidents and his confidence in the President’s leadership in maintaining Kenya’s unity.
The Secretary-General also participated at State House in an event on ending maternal mortality (Millennium Development Goal 5), alongside First Lady Margaret Kenyatta. He said that a little investment in simple solutions could go a long way in reducing maternal mortality, such as basic midwife training for women in villages or motorcycle ambulances for women in remote rural areas. (See Press Release SG/SM/15984.)
The Secretary-General then visited Nairobi National Park, where he adopted a six-month-old lion cub he named Tumaini — “Hope” in Kiswahili. After a working lunch on Kenya’s green energy leadership, he explained to the press that wildlife crime is not simply a threat to animals, but also a major security issue with links to organized crime and insurgent groups.
The Secretary-General left Nairobi in the afternoon for New York, where he arrived on Sunday, 29 June.