GOOD CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP, BUSINESS REPUTATIONS, INTIMATELY TIED, SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS CORPORATION LEADERS

Press Release
SG/SM/7203

GOOD CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP, BUSINESS REPUTATIONS, INTIMATELY TIED, SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS CORPORATION LEADERS

Following is the text of this morning's remarks by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, welcoming the Reverend Leon H. Sullivan, President, International Foundation for Education and Self-Help, to the official launching of the "Global Sullivan Principles".

It is a pleasure to welcome you all to United Nations Headquarters and to join you for this occasion. Your presence here highlights a key fact about today's United Nations: Our doors are open as never before to the business community, to non-governmental organizations, to all the dynamic and impassioned forces of civil society.

Of course, even more meaningful than opening doors is what we actually do when we get inside. Today, thanks to the efforts of Reverend Leon Sullivan, we have gathered to witness an important event.

Reverend Sullivan is known throughout the world for his bold and principled efforts to dismantle the system of apartheid in South Africa. It is no exaggeration to say that Reverend Sullivan, and all who joined him in that campaign, helped to shape the conscience of the international community. Today, he is showing yet again how much a committed individual can do to change lives and societies for the better.

The Global Sullivan Principles stress the social responsibilities of corporations. It was once fashionable to say that corporations are responsible only to their shareholders, and that the business of business is business. Today, enlightened business leaders recognize that their reputations, and even their bottom lines, are intimately tied to good corporate citizenship. They know that consumers care about the environment, and do not like the exploitation of child labour. More and more, what makes sense to ordinary, decent people makes good business sense as well.

The question today is not whether corporations have social responsibilities; clearly they do. No, the crucial question now is how to create an environment in which business does what it does best -- create jobs and wealth -- while ensuring that people's basic needs are met.

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That is what brings us together today. And it is what I had in mind earlier this year when I proposed a Global Compact between the United Nations and business. The Compact calls for business to do more to protect human rights, the environment and labour standards. The Global Sullivan Principles can help us implement the Compact and give global markets more of a human face.

As we enter a new millennium, the United Nations needs the world's businesspeople to help it achieve its aims and, equally, world business needs a strong United Nations. Together, we can bring to life the values of the United Nations Charter. Putting the Global Sullivan Principles into practice will be a big step in that direction.

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