The Global Compact, which includes the UN Environment Programme, International Labour Organisation and UN High Commission on Human Rights, is the centerpiece of the new partnerships. It was launched by Kofi Annan in Davos, Switzerland at the World Economic Summit in 1999. The Compact is comprised of nine lofty principles, but there is no monitoring or enforcement. The International Chamber of Commerce has endorsed it, but so far, no individual company has signed on. The UN is trying hard to adjust to the reality of the global economy.
Top officials hope to bring the riches of the private sector to aid humanitarian causes.
But in the examples above, the UN has failed to screen participating corporations to determine whether it is appropriate to have partnerships with them. They have failed to understand the significance of their de facto endorsement of companies which violate human rights, despoil the environment, promote unhealthy food, and target children to become massive consumers. They have abdicated their responsibility to fight for corporate accountability, to monitor and regulate the transnational companies that dominate the global economy. An informal network of groups concerned about compromising the reputation and effectiveness of the UN is forming. We have written to the heads of various agencies expressing reservations about these new arrangements.