United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator Mikiko Tanaka will end her assignment in Guyana this month.
United Nations Guyana on Thursday announced Tanaka’s completion of her duties here and said her successor will be named in a separate statement.
It noted that from 2016 to 2018, Tanaka was the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Resident Coordinator, and in 2019, as part of global UN Reforms, she left her position as UNDP Resident Representative to concentrate on the wider responsibilities of the Resident Coordinator for the whole UN System in Guyana.
According to the UN statement, during her tenure in Guyana, Tanaka led the implementation of the first ever Caribbean Multi-country Sustainable Development Framework (MSDF), a development partnership that supports Guyana in the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
“Ms. Tanaka has deployed the UN System in Guyana to address challenges faced during the 2020 national and regional elections, to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to support people directly affected by flooding and forced migration,” it added, while also noting that with the European Union, she has enabled Guyana’s inclusion in the global Spotlight Initiative aimed at eliminating violence against women.
The statement also said Tanaka has maintained the closest strategic relations between the UN and successive Guyanese governments since 2016, supporting them in strategic planning, helping them prepare for the effects of the unfolding climate emergency, and highlighting the challenges faced by some of Guyana’s poorest and most marginalized communities.
“Ms. Tanaka has worked tirelessly to ensure that the United Nations system supports Guyana to protect human rights, preserve democracy, and ensure that no-one, regardless of their circumstances, status or identity, is left behind from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” it added.
In Guyana, the United Nations system, which comprises 19 UN agencies, funds, and programmes, works with a range of partners to deliver the UN Caribbean Multi-country Sustainable Development Framework (2017-2021) that is directly aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.
