Letter from the Global Compact
Summary
By: Georg Kell, UN Global Compact Office
I am pleased to present to you the 13th issue of the UN-Business Focal Point newsletter. As you may have noticed, the newsletter is now in an updated format and is almost fully integrated with the new UN-Business website, thus providing a one-stop shop for information on UN partnerships with the private sector…
First and foremost, I would also like to thank all of you who attended and contributed to the success of the UN Private Sector Focal Points meeting on 13-14 April 2010 at the ILO Headquarters in Geneva. The meeting brought together UN staff from HQ and from the field who are working with the private sector in various capacities. It also included a number of senior private sector, civil society and bilateral aid agency representatives and other partnership experts. We are very pleased with the level of the discussion and the outcomes and we encourage you all to build on the momentum of the meeting by helping to share some of your activities in coming issues of the newsletter.
I would also like to announce that in November 2009 the Secretary-General signed and issued the revised Guidelines on Cooperation between the United Nations and the Business Sector. As an important component of the Secretary-General’s efforts to modernize the Organization, the Guidelines are intended to help UN staff develop more effective partnerships between the UN and the business sector while ensuring the integrity and independence of the United Nations.
Moreover, the General Assembly adopted the resolution “Towards Global Partnerships” which articulates the views of UN Member States on the rapidly evolving relationship between the United Nations and the private sector. The resolution, adopted under General Assembly agenda item 59 reaffirms the critical role of the private sector in supporting UN goals and stresses the importance of a value-based approach when engaging business. The resolution can be found here
In this issue, you will find numerous new examples of partnership initiatives being undertaken across the UN system. Moreover, this issue includes a wide range of articles in the “Themes and Debate” section which may be of interest to you, including summaries of recent partnership-related events as well as a fascinating in-depth look at partnership activities in Armenia. Moreover, this issue includes articles on new resources which may be helpful to your work, including additional information on the new UN-Business website and the new partnership guidelines. Lastly, the issue includes some upcoming events as well as an interesting in-depth interview with a Elvira Goetz from the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Lastly, I would like to announce the upcoming “UN Global Compact Leaders Summit 2010: Building a New Era of Sustainability” which will bring together chief executives with leaders from civil society, government and the UN to elevate the role of responsible business and investment in bringing about the needed transformation to more sustainable and inclusive markets. The Summit will provide the platform for business to convene, collaborate and commit to building a new era of sustainability. We encourage all Heads of UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes to attend.
On behalf of the UN Global Compact Office, I thank you for reading and for taking the time to contribute articles to this issue. We look forward to hearing more about your work and we encourage you to contact us with your new partnerships, tools, events and ideas. We hope you enjoy this issue!
Best wishes,
Georg