History is set to be made as the first UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) is expected to convene in Nairobi from 23 to 27 June with delegations from over 170 countries expected to attend the event which will be opened by President Uhuru Kenyatta. UNEA will replace UNEP’S governing council with the mandate to open up the body to all 193 UN member states, observer states and other stakeholders.

 

“For Kenya, hosting UNEA will mean that the attention of world’s leading agencies, experts and activists in environmental management will be on Nairobi. As such, the country’s enormous potential to develop a Green Economy will be on show as never before, with global decisions made having concrete consequences for all Kenyans,” a statement issued in Nairobi on Tuesday revealed.

 

At UNEA – under the slogan “A Life of Dignity for All” ministers and international leaders will gather to discuss key sustainable development and environment topics of current international concern.

 

The statement said the event will mark a historic milestone in UNEP’s 43-year history.

 

UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon and the president of the UN General Assembly, are set to attend the newly-established UNEA that will bring together over 1200 high-level participants from government, business and civil society.

 

The UNEA is the UN’s highest-level platform for decision making on environment that is tasked to chart a new course in the way the international community addresses environmental sustainability challenges.