PRESS CONFERENCE ON COOPERATION BETWEEN UN, BUSINESS COMMUNITY

“Building Partnerships”, a comprehensive overview of the growing cooperation between the United Nations and the business community in tackling a range of development challenges, was launched this morning at a Headquarters press conference.

At the outset, Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, told correspondents the book, a joint effort of the Global Compact, the Department of Public Information (DPI) and The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum, was not just a source of rich information about specific projects and initiatives that were increasingly taking shape throughout the United Nations.  It was also a handbook for practitioners explaining what could be done and how it could be done in cooperation to implement broader United Nations goals.

Joining Mr. Tharoor were Georg Kell, Executive Head of the Global Compact, and Jane Nelson, Policy Director at the Forum and author of the book.

Continuing, Mr. Tharoor said that the book told an important story and one that represented a very significant, but not perhaps widely enough known trend that was occurring at the United Nations.  It was a story of how the United Nations was learning to work with the private sector and how the Organization was innovating new approaches and exploring new ways to make business a part of the solution to various problems.

The Secretary-General, he said, had stressed from the beginning of his first term in office that finding new ways of collaboration between the United Nations and business and civil society was essential if the Organization was to succeed in its mission in the twenty-first century.  He had made that a central theme in his efforts to renew the Organization.  The book showed that a great deal was already happening.

Building partnerships had never been easy, and learning to do so effectively and successfully required real sustained efforts, he added.  The book provided a unique window into what was happening and offered a framework to better understand partnerships and to recognize their relevance for United Nations goals.

Mr. Kell said that, while it was true that the United Nations had long been working with business, it was also true that over the last five years new forms of partnerships had taken shape.  Learning how to manage them posed new challenges for the Organization, both in terms of the methods of work and understanding the motives of the actors.

Therefore, he continued, guidelines were needed to ensure that the integrity and image of the Organization was safeguarded.  It was also necessary to distinguish between different forms of engagement, among others, to distinguish between philanthropy, on the one hand, and strategic engagement around values, on the other, both of which required totally different approaches.  In addition, it took courage and persistence to carry through promising approaches.

In addition to reflecting on those and other lessons, the book also showed that new partnerships were not just about giving business a seat at the table, he said.  It explained clearly that partnerships were not about changing the inter-governmental character of the Organization, but were largely about implementing what governments had already agreed on but which they increasingly were not able to do by themselves.  The central lesson of the book was that most of the challenges being faced by the United Nations today required collective efforts, and the Organization must learn to work with other actors outside the system.

He added that a new portal would be launched next week at  www.unglobalcompact.org, which would showcase many of the ongoing projects.

There were four main messages the book tried to capture, stated Ms. Nelson.  First, the story was about both the changes within the United Nations system, as well as those within business, arising from the growing focus on corporate citizenship, social responsibility and accountability.  It was about how business could become more a part of the solution to various challenges rather than, as it was often viewed, as a part of the problem.

The second key message was one of innovation, she continued.  Many of the over 200 examples cited were about new types of innovation, new processes, new mechanisms, new products and services to tackle both long-standing and new challenges.  Many of the partnerships profiled were about how to use the core competencies of business to help the United Nations and governments to tackle difficult challenges, such as HIV/AIDS.  MTV, for example, had a big programme in cooperation with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) on getting messages out about the disease from young people themselves.

Unilever and Coca-Cola, two companies with big distribution networks in Africa, were using those networks to get messages out and distribute medical supplies, she continued.  Disaster response and refugee registration were among the other areas in which interesting partnerships had emerged over the past few years.  Also, the Netaid project, a partnership between the United Nations and Cisco Systems, was an innovative, electronically-based way to mobilize both funding and awareness on United Nations issues.

The third message was about the link between global processes and what was actually happening on the ground, she said.  Partnerships were about both the global and the local and the linkages between the two.  Fourth, it was very much a story about individual leadership and the role of individuals, starting with the Secretary-General himself, as well as many others. 

Replying to a question on the changes that had taken place over the past few years, Mr. Kell noted that the Secretary-General’s leadership had been crucial right from the beginning.  He had made it very clear that opening up the Organization to non-State actors, including business, labour and non-governmental organizations, was essential for the Organization to gain relevance in the twenty-first century.  Also crucial were individuals within the system who had driven innovation.

Because that change was occurring in the United Nations system, added

Ms. Nelson, there were also changes taking place in the corporate world with regard to social responsibility and corporate impact.  Companies were being pressured to take a closer look at their wider role in society.  Changes in both

arenas taking place at the same time created a space for business and the United Nations coming together to examine new ways of operating.

Noting that companies were not involved solely because they wanted to be good citizens, but also to make money and raise their profile, a correspondent asked how concerns about linking the United Nations with companies that often had a negative agenda were dealt with.  Mr. Kell stated that one of the big stories in the book was about learning to distinguish between the different motives of companies.

Companies that depended on openness, in terms of market openness and social stability, did recognize that the United Nations had a lot to offer, he said.  The Organization’s work in support of peace and security and development was fully complementary to efforts to build and expand markets.  Open communication and transparency were required to have a clear understanding of the goals of any partnership.  The Legal Office was very strict with regard to how the United Nations name and logo were used.  That was among the guidelines developed to protect the integrity of the Organization, on the one hand, and to provide sufficient space for engagement, on the other.

Before closing, Mr. Kell drew attention to a meeting to take place next week in Paris on the issue of business and sustainable development, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

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