Security at the gate is very tight and only people with an appointment are allowed in. Screening is done at the entrance before going for the second one where you leave your National identification card or Passport in exchange for the Tour pass which has to be displayed well at all times.
You will then be asked to walk along the path lined up with flags of all member states that leads you to the guest reception area.
On arrival you will be directed to the Karibu hall where guests are welcome, registration is done, given a short briefing and headsets.The tour start with a brief session at the conference room where guests are given lecture and history of UN.
Brief history
The full name of the facility is United Nation Office at Nairobi – UNON and it was formed in 1945.UN has 193 members and the newest member is South Sudan.
The main reason was to bring/achieve world peace and also to prevent 3rd world war from happening.
UNEP and UN-Habitat are also within the UNON and there a total of 3,800 staff from all over the word (member states).
It has 6 official languages: Arabic,Chinese,English, Russian , French and Spanish
The land on which the UNON occupies was donated by the Kenyan government, the first president donated 175 acres on land in 1975 and the second president donated 40 acres in 1983.There are 4 United nations offices worldwide are in the following cities: Geneva, Vienna, New York and Nairobi.
UN also has it’s organization structure, ICJ, UN Assembly, security council among others.
United Nation security council has 15 members - 5 permanent and 10 non-permanentUN visitors service was initiated 2 years ago after the United Nation assembly passed the resolution to allow people visit their offices in Nairobi.
There are several gifts at the UN compound donated by member states, namely:
- Picture painting from China government
- Handmade saddle from the government of Morocco
- Polar bear statue from China government
- Index finger statue from government of Chile
- Burnt tress donated by France government
- Elephant donated by Kenyan government
Also within the compound is the new UN headquarters offices which uses solar and was built in 2009/2010.
Its occupied by UNEP and Un-Habit and has approximately 1,200 staff.
Within the compound there is a memorial garden where tea and coffee plants to commemorate those who lost their lives during the terrorist attack in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
UN has 2 restaurants:
- Main restaurant
- Delegates lounge, mainly used by delegates on conferences. Good for fine dining and guests can have lunch here.
The tour can last for about 2 hrs and require to be booked in advance for security reasons. Entrance charges will apply.
Guests will have to be at the gate at least 30 minutes before the tour starts since security clearance can take up to 30 minutes.
Contributed By: Walter Mutai, HTT Holidays & Incentives
No comments:
Post a Comment