Kenya to host engineering unit of UN Africa peace keepers unit

Kenya will host the United Nations Peace Keeping Rapid Deployment of Engineering, Africa Unit.

UN Director of Operational Support Services Houston Fergusson on Wednesday said the unit would boost the capacity of African countries contributing troops to UN peace keeping missions.

Mr Fergusson made the announcement when he and a senior Japanese Government official, Nobuharu Imanishi, led a UN-Japan delegation to pay a courtesy call on President Kenyatta at State House, Nairobi.

FILL GAPS

The UN Engineering Unit, the two officials said, would fill a critical gap in peace keeping.

The unit is being established by UN with support from Japan.

President Kenyatta welcomed the UN decision.

“Kenya is a key contributor of peace keepers and will also benefit from the unit,” he said.

The government, he said, is committed to international obligations even as Kenya continues with efforts to stabilise troubled countries in the region.

REFUGEE BURDEN

“Kenya’s effort to stabilize the region comes at a cost. My government, however, remains committed to a peaceful region,” he said.

He called on the international community to recognise “the sacrifices Kenya has made” in hosting refugees from different countries since independence.

“Despite all the security challenges the country has undergone, it has kept its doors open for hundreds of thousands of refugees from across the continent,” the President said.

Japanese Ambassador to Kenya Tatsushi Terada and Foreign Affairs PS Karanja Kibicho also attended the meeting.