Funded by the European Union
Official Nomination of Mr. Joel Kamande as Head of the Regional Secretariat in Nairobi
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Kenya has appointed Mr. Joel Kamande, Secretary of the Radiation Protection Board, to the position of head of the EU CBRN Centre of Excellence Regional Secretariat in Nairobi, Kenya.
The EU CBRN CoE initiative is aimed at strengthening national and regional security by developing instruments and policies for the mitigation of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear risks. This includes sharing of good practices and capabilities in terms of expertise, training, technical assistance and equipment, in order to collect and deploy resources to respond to the needs identified by partner countries.
Activities, within the framework of this initiative, have been taking place in Eastern and Central Africa since 2011. There are currently nine partner countries in the region, namely: Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The EU CBRN CoE Regional Secretariat will play a crucial role in the regional implementation of the initiative. Following a bottom-up and voluntary approach, it will support partner countries in various activities such as creating National CBRN Teams; drafting National CBRN Action Plans; monitoring ongoing regional and international EU CBRN CoE projects, assisting in the development of new project proposals and the organisation of Regional Round-Table Meetings.
The nomination of the Head of the Eastern and Central Africa Regional Secretariat represents an important step forward in the implementation of the EU CBRN CoE initiative in the region and will be followed by the official inauguration of the Regional Secretariat.
The EU CBRN CoE initiative is funded by the European Commission and implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI). The European External Action Service is also involved in the follow-up of the initiative. The initiative is developed with the technical support of relevant international and regional organisations, the EU Member States and other stakeholders, through coherent and effective cooperation at the national, regional and international level. The initiative involves 47 countries in 8 regions of the world.
For more information:
CBRN Centres of Excellence website:
http://www.cbrn-coe.eu/
European Commission, Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace website:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/fpi/what-we-do/instrument_contributing_to_stability_and_peace_en.htm