US think-tank taps Kenya's outgoing UN envoy Martin Kimani
Tuesday March 19 2024
Dr Martin Kimani. He has been appointed as the next Executive Director for the Center on International Cooperation. PHOTO | FILE | NMG
A top New York think-tank has hired Kenya’s outgoing Permanent Representative to the UN as its next boss.
Dr Martin Kimani will become the next Executive Director for the Center on International Cooperation (CIC), a non-profit research centre at the New York University (NYU). He will start his new duties on June 3 this year, according to a dispatch from the Centre.
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It closes a chapter on a diplomat who has been largely respected within Kenya and abroad. President William RUTO nominated former Turkana County Speaker Erastus Lokaale as his replacement in New York. But he needs to be vetted by parliament first before formally reporting to duty, something that could take up to two months. Kimani will not formally leave his post as envoy until his successor is ready.
Dr Kimani had been a Permanent Representative to the UN since December 2020 and is remembered for the rousing speech at the UN Security Council when Russia launched war on Ukraine in February 2022. At the time, Kenya was a non-permanent member of the Council.
“We must complete our recovery from the embers of dead empires in a way that does not plunge us back into new forms of domination and oppression,” Dr Kimani said on February 21, 2022.
His new employers said they want to tap into his experience as a diplomat and leader.
“His ability to build bridges and identify strategic opportunities to strengthen multilateral action will be a great benefit to CIC, the United Nations, and the International Financial Institutions in the current period of high geopolitical tension,” said Sarah Cliffe, outgoing Executive Director of CIC. She will remain a Distinguished Fellow at CIC alongside other former Executive Directors.
Dr Kimani said it was a privilege to lead CIC “as we stand at the crossroads of global challenges that demand robust, ambitious multilateral cooperation.”
“I extend my deepest thanks to NYU and all involved for entrusting me with the opportunity to draw upon CIC’s expertise to develop innovative solutions and pursue meaningful change on a global scale,” he said in a statement.
CIC says it advocates for “international cooperation to prevent crises and promote peace, justice, inclusion and a leading global think tank on multilateralism.” It said appointing Dr Kimani is meant to produce “practical, principled, and evidence-based action” to address the world’s most pressing challenges.
Dr Kimani’s local contribution in Kenya was when he served as Special Envoy for Countering Violent Extremism, and as the Director of the National Counter Terrorism Centre where he helped turn around the counter-terrorism messaging.
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He was previously the Director of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s (IGAD) Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism, tasked with cross-border conflict prevention and resolution efforts in the Horn of Africa. He had previously served as the Permanent Representative to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
Regionally he was involved in other peace initiatives in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. A fellow of the African Leadership Initiative and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, Dr Kimani holds a PhD in War Studies from King’s College, London.