Opening the last United Nations orientation towards the structure of its offices and agencies and reducing its presence at the headquarters in New York, the door to an intense competition between regions and countries to host international offices and bodies that will be transferred outside New York.
Kenya, Rwanda and Betswana appear as the most prominent African countries competing to win the embrace of these offices and new bodies, in a race to enhance and consolidate their regional position as active centers for international institutions, which gives them influence and influence, not only in the African continent and the global south countries, but also in the international decision -making, at a time when the world is going through great geopolitical transformations, especially after the arrival of the president Donald Trump to power in the United States of America, and his declared policy to reduce support to international organizations, and try to end the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Nairobi is participating in hosting the main headquarters of the United Nations outside New York with both Vienna and Geneva, and Nairobi is the only city in the global south that hosts the main headquarters of the United Nations.
The most prominent international offices hosted by Kenya
Kenya hosts the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the United Nations Human Settlement Program (UN-Habitat), and the following Qatari offices: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Migration Organization (IOM), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations Authority for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (U Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UFPA), World Food Program (WFP), and World Health Organization (WHO).
It also hosts the following regional offices: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Labor Organization (ILO), International Maritime Organization (IMO), United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Affairs (UNHCR), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the United Nations Children’s Fund in Africa, the Joint United Nations HIV Program (UNAIDS), and the United Nations Project Services Office (UNOPS).
The UN offices and agencies are located in Nairobi in the upscale Gygari neighborhood with a total area of 140 acres, and it includes 44 thousand international employees, including 6 thousand Kenyan employees, with 1500 long -term contracts.
African calls for United Nations reform may pay more international offices for Africa
In light of the rise of the African continent and its global impact, in addition to the presence of most humanitarian crises and those related to change, and during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly summit held in New York in September 2024, Kenyan President William Roto called for the United Nations reform.
He said that the United Nations did not deal adequate global challenges, as the planet is witnessing a high temperature and climate in a crisis, and the oceans are rising, deserts are expanding, conflicts sweep the world, millions of people are displaced, poor and deprived of basic services.
He added: The multilateral systems have proven not enough to address climate change, inequality, and debt, and therefore an urgent need to make immediate decisions to address unprecedented global crises. He stressed the redesign of the international global order, the strengthening of partnerships for joint security, the filling of the digital gap, the investment in human capabilities, and the empowerment of women and youth.
He demanded to address the historical injustice of Africa’s lack of permanent representation of the UN Security Council, as a fair issue in United Nations reforms. While the United States confirmed its support for Africa to obtain two permanent seats, it stipulated that there would be no veto.
A number of United Nations programs residing in Africa also wrote a research paper entitled: “The Form of the United Nations in the Future”, in which they demanded reforms to ensure the ability of the UN organization to achieve sustainable development goals.
They added that, in light of the pressures that are exposed to and the increasing and interconnected global crises, from climate change to digital turmoil, the United Nations must develop relevant and effective means to face future challenges, including financing and rapid and effective response to crises.
The paper demanded that the resident coordinators play a role in shaping the presence of the United Nations and following up on the agencies to ensure its effectiveness, and to play the role of dialogue with the host governments and ensure the consistency of programs with the national development goals.
It is worth noting that last May, the United Nations issued orders to more than 60 of its offices and operations to submit proposals until mid -June to reduce 20% of its employees, to counter a critical financing crisis. This step is expected to affect about 14,000 jobs, and the discounts include political and humanitarian offices.
An increasing regional competition for hosting new offices for the United Nations
In light of the political and economic uncertainty in Kenya, African countries are looking to present themselves as safe and suitable headquarters to host the new offices, and among these countries is Rwanda, who has already submitted an official request to the Secretary -General of the United Nations.
“Rwanda is ready to work as a committed partner in shaping the future of its global operations,” Edward Najerti said in a letter sent on May 23, 2025.
Kigali’s message did not specify certain agencies, but it indicated the country’s ability to provide spaces for these headquarters, in addition to the possibility of creating a direct air connection to the main regional and global centers. The letter also boasted about the country’s record of political stability, institutional efficiency, and ensuring the safety of United Nations employees.
Besides Rwanda, Qatar, Austria and Betswana also applied to host the new United Nations offices, where the government of Botswana sent in April 2025 message to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, confirming its willingness to provide free hosting within a government builder capable of absorbing more than a thousand employees, and supporting employment costs for the new offices.
“Gaburon” argued with its strategic geographical location in the heart of South Africa, which makes it important for regional coordination, as well as the availability of educated and skilled professionals. The letter added that Betswana has been a permanent and constant partner with the African Union and the United Nations, and confirms its commitment to the principles of good neighborhood, inclusiveness, and sustainable development, in line with the main goals of the United Nations.
Hosting the headquarters of the plastic treaty
In 2022, the United Nations member states adopted an authorization to negotiate the international instrument binding to end plastic pollution. Member States met in November 2024, and the INC5 report was approved to develop the treaty.
Kenya confirmed its commitment to prevent the use of plastic, and signed the clean seas initiative to rid the waterways of plastic waste, as it banned the use of plastic across the country since 2020. In September 2024, Kenya joined countries aimed at eliminating plastic pollution, along with 67 other countries.
In January 2025, negotiations for the United Nations Environment Program to Geneva moved, with the aim of finalizing a historical global agreement to address plastic pollution.
The meeting of the delegates in Busan-South Korea, in the ends of 2024, was shaken by without reaching an agreement, which prompted the states to hold another meeting in Nairobi on June 4, 2025, attended by high-ranking representatives and continued consultations on setting up the features of a binding international instrument on plastic pollution.
It was also agreed that the regional consultations of the groups of states were continued during the coming period of the Geneva meeting, and the consultations of the African Group will be held from 3 to 5 July 2025 in Nairobi, in addition to an informal meeting of heads of delegations from June 30 to July 2, 2025 in Nairobi.
It is also scheduled that the second part of the Fifth Appeal (INC 5-2) will be held from 5 to 14 August 2025, in Geneva, and is expected to be decisive.
Kenya is seeking to obtain support for some European countries to host the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Treaty, and Switzerland has also shown an interest in hosting. However, the Kenyan Environment Minister, Deborara Barrasa, asked a French delegation that Nairobi visited on April 15, 2025, the Kenyan demand support, and indicated in this regard the pivotal role that Nairobi plays in global environmental governance, as the host country of the United Nations Environment Program and other international agencies.
She also added that the Kenyan President and William Roto still chairing the African group of the African Climate Changes Committee. In the same context, Kenya applied to host the African Climate Week in September 2025, in addition to the possibility of hosting a conference of African environment ministers in July 2025, after it was not possible to stay in Libya due to security conditions.
Is Kenya able to host more new offices?
Kenya has submitted a request to host the offices that were announced outside New York, and the Kenyan government said it was ready and qualified for that. In May 2025, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Moussalia Modfai told local media that Kenya is putting itself as a major destination for the United Nations agencies seeking to move from New York, providing enormous benefits if the United Nations family was expanded in Kenya.
Kenya added that, by hosting the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Program and the United Nations Office for Human Settlements, Kenya added the extent of this effect, and we are ready to work closely with the United Nations, and Kenya puts itself as an ideal host country globally.
The Kenyan government said that the United Nations approved a budget of $ 300 million to update and expand its operations in Kenya, including the development of facilities, including the main sessions hall that currently accommodates two thousand people, and will be expanded to host nine thousand people, with the possibility of a meeting of the General Assembly in Kenya.
Summary
While the competition of both Rwanda and Betswana raises challenges in front of Kenya’s desire to host more UN agencies and offices, other issues may affect the ability and suitability of Nairobi to host the international headquarters, including the uncertainty about political and security stability, especially since the current government faced/ faces an increasing youth opposition that began in the middle of last year by rejecting the public budget that includes an increase in an increase Taxes, and developed into a demand for the regime’s departure.
It is expected that the opposition will increase over time, in light of the difficult economic conditions, and the government restricting the area of the other opinion, unanimously Kenya, which was previously characterized by the high ceiling of media and political freedoms compared to its counterparts in East Africa.
The goal of the United Nations is to diversify and distribute the headquarters of international agencies and bodies in different capitals and regions, may be the reason for the choice of alternative headquarters for Nairobi to host, at a time when cities such as Kigali emerge as a safe and stable option, and an international and regional partner who provides himself convincingly.
The opinions in the article do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al -Jazeera.