Default title

UN, business, civil society linked by web site, opening 28 January in Davos

(NEW YORK/DAVOS, 28 January) The most ambitious effort to date to establish a working relationship between international agencies, the private sector and citizens groups on the front-burner issues of environmental protection, job security and human rights takes a step forward into cyberspace today, with the inauguration of www.unglobalcompact.org.

UN Human Rights High Commissioner Mary Robinson, International Labour Organization Director General Juan Somavia, UN Environment Programme Executive Director Klaus Topfer and Novell CEO Eric Schmidt, British Petroleum CEO Sir John Browne and ICFTU General Secretary Bill Jordan will be at the Cyber Cafe at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland at 17:45 hours on Friday, 28 January, to launch an interactive website which becomes the world’s most comprehensive resource centre on corporate citizenship.

A simultaneous launch will take place at UN Headquarters in New York in Room S-226, at the noon press briefing.

Exactly one year earlier, speaking at the 1999 World Economic Forum, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposed a "global compact" between the UN, business and civil society to tackle the crucial and contentious issues of environmental protection and human and workers' rights. He warned the business community that concerns about the impact of globalization and economic liberalization on living standards in rich and poor countries alike could lead to a civil society backlash. That warning was fulfilled at recent trade talks in Seattle.

www.unglobalcompact.org -- what it does

The objectives of the website are to advance implementation of universally agreed values that are relevant to business, to promote global corporate citizenship and to stimulate best practices

The Global Compact web site

· makes the case for business commitment to environmental and rights issues, and presents documentation of universally recognized principles that corporations are being asked to incorporate in their practices, including the Universal Declaration on Human Rights; Agenda 21, the Earth Summit-endorsed action plan; and the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work;

· puts managerial tools -- such as environmental impact checklists and matrices for documentation of stakeholder interactions --into the hands of corporate staff;

· links business and civil society users with organizations worldwide which are involved with related issues, and keeps them up to date on new initiatives in the corporate citizenship field;

· regularly updates a calendar of related events, within and outside the UN system;

· circulates articles, reviews and position papers drawn from newspapers, journals, UN publications, the Internet, academic debate and corporate and organizational statements.

· integrates UN data bases on labour, human rights and the environment.

Coming additions to www.globalcompact.org will include expertly run and mediated dialogues on topical issues. Open-ended chat rooms are also planned.

For more information, contact Dan Shepard (1-212-963-2339) at the UN Department Public Information; and Georg Kell (1-212-963-1490) at the UN Executive Office of the Secretary-General.