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UN

Kenyan nominated to head UN trade body

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon has nominated former Kenyan minister and member of parliament Mukhisa Kituyi to lead the UN's Geneva-based trade and development body when the current chief steps down at the end of August.

Kenyan nominated to head UN trade body

"United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has nominated Mukhisa Kituyi of Kenya to serve as Secretary-General of UNCTAD for a term of four years beginning September 1, 2013," the UN agency said in a statement.
   
Kituyi was a member of the Kenyan parliament for 15 years starting in 1992 
and served as the country's minister of trade and industry from 2002 to 2007.

His nomination must be confirmed by the UN General Assembly.
   
If confirmed, Kituyi will succeed Supachai Panitchpakdi, from Thailand, who 
has served two terms at the helm of the UN Conference on Trade and Development since taking over the position on September 1st 2005.
   
The decision to pick a leader for UNCTAD from Africa may have been 
influenced by the World Trade Organization's recent nomination of Brazilian diplomat Roberto Azevedo to take over the helm there when Frenchman Pascal Lamy leaves at the end of August, since nations often try to balance
representation in international organisations among regions.
   
Two African candidates, one from Kenya and the other from Ghana, were among 
the initial nine who vied for the top WTO spot.

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UN

‘The war must end now’: UN Sec-Gen meets Swedish PM in Stockholm

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres met Sweden's Prime Minister in Stockholm on Wednesday, ahead of the conference marking the 50th anniversary of the city's historic environment summit .

'The war must end now': UN Sec-Gen meets Swedish PM in Stockholm

After a bilateral meeting with Magdalena Andersson on the security situation in Europe, Guterres warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to a global food crisis that would hurt some of the world’s most vulnerable people. 

“It is causing immense suffering, destruction and devastation of the country. But it also inflames a three-dimensional global crisis in food, energy and finance that is pummelling the most vulnerable people, countries and economies,” the Portuguese diplomat told a joint press conference with Andersson. 

He stressed the need for “quick and decisive action to ensure a steady flow of food and energy,” including “lifting export restrictions, allocating surpluses and reserves to vulnerable populations and addressing food price increases to calm market volatility.”

Between the two, Russia and Ukraine produce around 30 percent of the global wheat supply.

Guterres was in Stockholm to take part in the Stockholm 50+ conference, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. 

The conference, which was held on the suggestion of the Swedish government in 1972 was the first UN meeting to discuss human impacts on the global environment, and led to the establishment of the UN Environment Program (UNEP). 

At the joint press conference, Andersson said that discussions continued between Sweden and Turkey over the country’s continuing opposition to Sweden’s application to join the Nato security alliance. 

“We have held discussions with Turkey and I’m looking forward to continuing the constructive meetings with Turkey in the near future,” she said, while refusing to go into detail on Turkey’s demands. 

“We are going to take the demands which have been made of Sweden directly with them, and the same goes for any misunderstandings which have arisen,” she said. 

At the press conference, Guterres condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine as “a violation of its territorial integrity and a violation of the UN Charter”.

“The war must end now,” he said. 

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