Society & Policy

Press release: On Friday, November 7, the Office of the Auditor General presented its report on the effectiveness of Norwegian humanitarian assistance. Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre made the following comment to the report:    

Press Release: Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim signed an agreement on Friday September 5, 2008 with ILO Director General Juan Somavia pledging NOK 100 million to the International Labour Organisation’s campaign to promote decent work.

In July H.E. Ambassador Elisabeth Jacobsen together with ambassadors from France, the Check Republic, Australia, as well as the EU-Commission visited the village of Matharu close to Timboroa in the Uasin Gishu District outside Eldoret. The trip was organised by the Kenya Red Cross (KRC), and led by Secretary General Abbas Gullet. The ambassadors wished to acquire more insight in the many local reconciliation processes, and see how far the work had come.

In response to the considerable recent media focus on Norway’s policy in Somalia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to clarify the following points.

HM the Queen of Norway visited Kenya from 24-26 of September, in connection with the annual Norwegian TV-Gala (“TV-aksjonen”). The money from this year’s “TV-aksjonen” will be given to UNICEF Norway, together with the Olympic Committee and the organisation “Right to Play”. The focus of this year’s event was “Together for Children”. This entails that all the funding will be distributed to children that are affected by HIV/AIDS trough different projects, in different parts of the world, including Kenya.

St. John’s Community Centre celebrated their 50th anniversary the 19th October. Since 1990 St. John’s Community Centre has also cooperated closely with Norwegian Church Aid. Also honouring this cooperation, the Ambassador of Norway, Elisabeth Jacobsen and First secretary Siv Cathrine Moe, together with Norwegian Church Aid’s representative, Mr. Odd Evjen were present at the St. John’s Anniversary in Nairobi.

Peace mediators from all over the world gathered in Norway at the Oslo Forum in the last week of June, to share experiences on ongoing mediation in peace processes in the Middle East, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Somalia.

The Norwegian Ambassador, Ms. Elisabeth Jacobsen, addressed the quarterly Law Society of Kenya luncheon on 31 May 2007. The topic for her discussion was "2007 Elections. Emerging Governance Issues".

The Norwegian Ambassador to Kenya, Ms. Elisabeth Jacobsen opened the conference " Eastern Africa media @ the Crossroads" on 2 May. The Conference is organised by the Media Council of Kenya, with the support of the Royal Norwegian Embassy. The two-day conference coincides with the commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day on 3 May.

Ambassador Mona Juul has been elected to chair the First Committee during this autumn’s UN General Assembly session. This is the committee that deals with issues related to international security and disarmament.