Annan Inaugurates Global Compact Meetings in New York
02 Jul 2006NEW YORK ------ July 2, 2006---- The new Global Compact Board, the United Nation’s high-level body involving business, civil society and labor, gathered at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on June 28, 2006 for its inaugural meeting.
At the opening session, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stressed on the hopes placed in the hands of the new members.
"I hope that the diversity of perspectives will become a core strength of the new body, enabling it to find common ground, united in the shared objective of seeing the Compact succeed in its mission.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman and CEO of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAGorg) expressed the international community's gratitude for Annan’s initiatives, and confidence in the Global Compact members as well as his success in establishing equal and balanced partnerships between the business community, governments and governmental organizations.
Abu-Ghazaleh , in his remarks, pointed out that his participation in the Compact meetings comes after being elected Co-Chairman for the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Development in the meeting which was held in Kuala Lumpur last week.
During the meeting, Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh was entrusted to represent the Global Compact in the partnership with the International Standards Organization (ISO) Commission to formulate ISO’s Standard No. 2600 pertaining to the social responsibility of the companies.
During the meeting, Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh was entrusted to represent the Global Compact in the partnership with the International Standards Organization (ISO) Commission to formulate ISO’s Standard No. 2600 pertaining to the social responsibility of the companies.
Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh was also assigned to lead the Arab Compact Networks to establish branches in the Arab countries.
The Compact’s ten major principles are:
Human Rights
· Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
· Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
Labor Standards
Labor Standards
· Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
· Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor;
· Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labor; and
· Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Environment
· Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
· Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
· Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies
Anti-Corruption
· Principle 10: Businesses should work against all forms of corruption, including extortion and bribery.
The members of the Board of the Compact are key figures from the business community, international federations and civil society institutions; some of these members are :
· Mr. Talal Abu- Ghazaleh; Chairman and CEO, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization, Egypt
· Professor José Sergio Gabrielli de AZEVEDO; President and CEO, Petrobras, Brazil
· Mr. Guillermo CAREY; Senior Partner, Carey & Allende Abogados, Chile
· Mrs. CHEN Ying ; Deputy Director General, China Enterprise Confederation, China
· Mrs. Suzanne Nora JOHNSON ; Vice Chairman, Goldman Sachs Group, USA
· Ms. Anne LAUVERGEON ;Chair of the Executive Board, Areva, France
· Mr. Guy RYDE ; General Secretary, International Confederation of Free Trade Union
· Dr. Huguette LABELLE; Chair, Transparency International