UNON Press Briefing

Welcome Remarks by USG Zainab Hawa Bangura, UNON Director-General for the UNON Press Briefing –  

Thursday, 28 August 2025 – 9:30pm – 12:30pm 

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Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, Colleagues and Participants: 

Good morning and a very warm welcome to the United Nations Office at Nairobi, the only UN headquarter office in Africa and the global south. It is a pleasure and an honour to have you with us today for this important press conference. It is the first of its kind that the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) has ever held, so a big thank you to all who have contributed to this event in one way or another. 

As earlier mentioned, my name is Zainab Hawa Bangura, and I am the Director-General (DG) of UNON at the Under-Secretary-General level. In this capacity, I wear 3 hats: firstly, as the UNON DG as mentioned, secondly as the representative of the UN Secretary-General in Kenya with attending political and representational responsibilities, and thirdly as the Designated Official (DO) for Kenya, being the senior-most UN official at the duty station. As DO, my responsibilities cover the safety and security of all UN assets, staff and dependents including those of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  

There are 4 UN Headquarter duty stations in the world located in New York (our global hq), Geneva (UNOG), Nairobi (UNON) and Vienna (UNOV). Each of these duty stations is unique with its own strengths and peculiarities. New York is the main UN headquarters as you all know, where all policies are set, budgets established, and system-wide decisions made. Geneva serves as the seat of most humanitarian agencies and headquarters to most UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes (AFPs), retaining a strong multilateral presence and playing host to myriad negotiation efforts and conferences held with and on behalf of UN entities at the UNOG premises. Vienna serves the global headquarter of the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) respectively with UNOV performing administrative functions for the entities in Vienna.  

Nairobi serves as the global headquarters for the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) respectively, with UNON providing administrative, conference services, security and information services to these entities and to the Resident Coordinator System globally. Although UNON’s role is predominantly one of service delivery in 167 countries worldwide, we are making every effort to position UNON at par with the New York and Geneva headquarter offices including in hosting global cooperation/multilateral meetings. You may recall that in May 2024, UNON hosted the UN Civil Society Conference in support of the Summit of the Future, the first time in 69 editions this global conference was hosted on African soil.  

While New York and Geneva have dedicated UN press corps, this is not the case with Nairobi. However, we are pleased to work with you to promote a better understanding of the United Nations - not just of the work of the Organisation, but of the values and principles that created the Organisation 80 years ago out of the ashes of the Second World War.  As you will hear from the presentation on UNON, we are physically the largest UN headquarter office worldwide with a 140-acre footprint, and we are grateful to the Government of Kenya for having provided this land in the 1970s, as a sign of its commitment to multilateralism.  And further, for the collaboration we have since enjoyed over the years to date.  

The United Nations as a whole is a massive and often complex mechanism. We acknowledge that this sometimes make it a bit challenging to have a clear understanding of who we are and what we do, especially here in Kenya.  

We are gathered here today to mark a symbolic first step in initiating a lasting, sustainable partnership with the media towards information sharing and responsible reporting as well as to mitigate potential misinformation/disinformation with the public and the media at large.  

That is why your presence here is not only appreciated—it is vital. As members of the press, you are our essential partners in the fight against misinformation/ disinformation. Your commitment to accuracy, context, and truth plays a crucial role in ensuring that our global community receives clear and correct information. By helping to inform the public and dispel false narratives, you serve as a critical safeguard against confusion and exploitation. We deeply appreciate your presence, attention and above all, your role as trusted stewards of public information and look forward to engaging with you. 

I would like to thank Ms. Sandra Macharia, our Director of the UN Information Service (UNIS) here in Kenya who is the brainchild behind today’s press briefing and what we hope to be a long-lasting beneficial partnership for us all. 

As part of today’s agenda, we will walk you through the UN Gigiri complex renovation milestones and the measures being taken to support staff and maintain operational efficiency and continuity. There will be Q&A segments where we would welcome your questions. I have with me today members of my senior management team who will provide the necessary substantive insights into today’s presentations. Once again, thank you for your time, your professionalism, and your partnership. 

Welcome—and let’s begin.