 | |
  UNON Location within Kenya | |
| Abbreviation | UNON |
|---|---|
| Location |
|
| Coordinates | 1°14′05″S36°48′59″E / 1.2346°S 36.8164°E /-1.2346; 36.8164 |
Director-General | Zainab Bangura |
| Website | www.unon.org |
TheUnited Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON,Swahili:Ofisi ya Umoja wa Mataifa Nairobi) inNairobi, the capital ofKenya, is one of four majorUnited Nations office sites[a] where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. Established in 1996, it is the UN's official headquarters in Africa.[1]
The United Nations Office at Nairobi also hosts the global headquarters for two programmes: theUnited Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)[2] and theUnited Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).[3]
In November 2004, theUnited Nations Security Council held a rare session atNairobi to discuss the armed conflicts insouthern andwesternSudan that constituted a phase of theSecond Sudanese Civil War.[4] The meeting was convened at the urging of then-AmbassadorJohn Danforth of the United States.[5]
The complex of buildings is located next to theKarura Forest in theGigiri district of Nairobi, along United Nations Avenue. It stands across the street from theUS Embassy in Kenya.
The UN complex contains a'green' building, a completelyenergy andcarbon-neutral building, housing UNEP and UN-Habitat offices.[6][7] The building is the first of its kind in Africa,recycling water and usingnatural light to reduce reliance on artificial lighting. In addition, the building is designed to use natural flow of air as a substitute toair conditioning, and it containssolar panels to generate all the energy that the building might consume.[8] It was opened on 31 March 2011 byUN Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon and Kenyan PresidentMwai Kibaki.[9]
Burned Trees, a series of sculptures designed by Monegasque artistPhilippe Pastor aimed at drawing attention to forestconflagrations (fires), has been exhibited continuously at the office since 2006.[10]
The office complex can also be visited by the public, in the form of pre-booked, guided tours, provided by the UN Visitors' Service of Nairobi. Anyone interested has the opportunity to book a tour, during which one can learn about the history and work of the UN, while also getting an opportunity to see the offices, including the above-mentionedgreen building. Tours are available during office hours each day, in various languages (e.g. English, Chinese, German, French, Kiswahili).
Headquartered at Nairobi:
Presence at Nairobi:
UNON also hosts the annualEast Africa Model United Nations Conference for secondary school and university students from East Africa.[11]
UNON is headed by a Director-General, who is at the rank ofUnder-Secretary-General in the United Nations System. The Director-General is appointed by the Secretary General.[12]The current Director-General isZainab Bangura[13] of Sierra Leone.[14][15]
