Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Erastus Ekitela Lokaale, has been appointed as one of two co-facilitators of the Second International Migration Review Forum (IMRF).
International Migration Review Forum is a landmark global platform held every four years that brings together Member States, international organisations, civil society, and the private sector to assess progress in the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM).
He will serve alongside Ambassador Olivier Maes, the Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to the United Nations.
This appointment by the President of the United Nations General Assembly places Ambassador Lokaale at the helm of one of the most consequential intergovernmental processes on international migration governance, underscoring Kenya’s growing influence and credibility on the global stage.
The Second IMRF, mandated by the United Nations General Assembly, serves as the principal intergovernmental forum for a comprehensive review of the GCM’s progress.
Its outcomes shape global policy on migration protection, labour mobility, diaspora engagement, and the rights of migrants.
Kenya’s co-facilitation of this forum, therefore, places the country in a position to help shape the global migration agenda in ways that reflect the interests and realities of African and developing nations.
Kenya has long been a committed and active champion of the Global Compact on Migration, one of a select group of countries that have voluntarily assumed a leadership role in accelerating its implementation at the national, regional, and global levels.
The country has consistently demonstrated that well-governed migration can be a powerful engine for development.
Ambassador Lokaale’s appointment is the latest in a series of high-profile engagements that have marked his tenure as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Known for his skillful diplomatic acumen and ability to build consensus across regional blocs, he has steadily emerged as one of Kenya’s most effective multilateral diplomats. Among other roles, he is currently serving as one of the Vice Presidents of the UN General Assembly.
In 2025, he successfully co-facilitated the twenty-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) leading to the adoption of its outcome by the General Assembly in December 2025 by consensus, a feat that is becoming increasingly rare at the United Nations in the current geopolitical environment.
