UNEP headquarters in Nairobi is a huge complex with some very unique facilities . One of them is the ?Green Room?. During the First Universal Session of the Governing Council , the Green Room was used to host side events .These were in huge demand and were fully booked out in advance.

It was therefore quite an honour for me to be a panelist and a speaker at a Green Room event. The title of the event was ?IMPLEMENTING THE LONG-TERM: OMBUDSPERSONS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS ?  and I was one of the 4 speakers.

The concept of Ombudsperson  for future generations is a very relevant and interesting one and it is essentially that of a green guardian. An Ombudsperson by definition is a government appointed official who has some kind of independent authority to safeguard the interests of the public .

Important point to note is that the Rio+20 outcome document mentions the need for this in para86. Subsequent to this, an OWG ( Open Working Group) has been working on a proposal for submission, hopefully by June this year.

My speech on this subject dwelt upon the unchecked environmental disasters that continue to happen and called for urgent implementation of institutionalized Ombudspersons.  Let us all continue to fight for Future Justice.