The assignment in Guyana of United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator Mikiko Tanaka will end in August 2021.
Tanaka joined the UN System in Guyana in August 2016. From 2016 to 2018, she was the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Resident Coordinator.
In 2019, as part of global UN Reforms, Tanaka left her position as UNDP Resident Representative to concentrate on the wider responsibilities of the Resident Coordinator for the whole UN System in Guyana.
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.
She had 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.
With the European Union, she has enabled Guyana’s inclusion in the global Spotlight Initiative, which aims to eliminate violence against women.
Tanaka has maintained the closest strategic relations between the UN and successive Guyana 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 marginalised communities.
The UN Rep 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 circumstance, status or identity, is left behind from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Her successor will be announced shortly.
