State confirms Host Country Status for climate-focused NGO, rejects claims of external influence
Host Country Status allows GCA to operate its regional office with specific privileges, including tax exemptions on goods necessary for its operations, legal protection for actions taken in good faith, and work permits for internationally recruited staff.
The government has officially granted Host Country Status to the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA), an international climate-focused NGO headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, allowing it to operate a regional office in Nairobi.
In a public notice issued on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs clarified that the decision followed standard legal procedures, including a thorough review, stakeholder consultations, and parliamentary ratification, refuting media reports suggesting that the agreement had been influenced by external political pressure.
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“The privileges conferred on GCA are not special; they are consistent with those granted to more than 170 other international and non-state organisations operating in the country since 1984,” the notice stated.
“The imputation, therefore, that the Host Country Agreement to the Global Centre on Adaptation was granted as a result of external political pressure is without any foundation.”
These organisations include Oxfam, Save the Children, the World Wide Fund for Nature, the International Cooperative Alliance, and the Lutheran World Federation, among others.
Host Country Status allows GCA to operate its regional office with specific privileges, including tax exemptions on goods necessary for its operations, legal protection for actions taken in good faith, and work permits for internationally recruited staff.
The Ministry emphasised that such privileges are intended to facilitate the effective functioning of organisations providing technical assistance, rather than granting special political influence.
“These privileges include tax exemption on specific goods relevant to the organisation's functioning, protection from legal suits with respect to good faith actions of the organisation and work permits,” said the Ministry.
The process began on July 27, 2023, when GCA formally requested consideration for a Host Country Agreement.
After a detailed review, Legal Notice No. 82 was signed on April 20, 2025, by the Prime Cabinet Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, granting privileges and immunities to GCA and its staff.
Parliament ratified the decision on September 30, 2025, following public participation and stakeholder hearings as required under the Privileges and Immunities Act (CAP 179).
“It is the mandate of the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, under the Privileges and Immunities Act (CAP 179), to negotiate and finalise Host Country Agreements with intergovernmental organisations and external agencies, as well as to manage diplomatic privileges and immunities in the country,” said Dr Korir Sing’oei, Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
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