UNITED NATIONS: Wanted – Partners with Capital

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Feb 2 1998 (IPS) - United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan gave a new boost over the weekend to his plans for a partnership between the world body and the international business community.

Annan described his initiative as the union of “the power of the markets with the authority of universal ideals.”

He appealed to the business elite, meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to support a working partnership between the UN, civil society, the private sector and legislators worldwide.

Although without excluding the business sector when referring to alliances with civil society, UN agencies up to now mainly focused on non-governmental organisations, such as groups representing women, peasants and workers.

But a year ago in Davos – at the start of his five-year term at the head of the United Nations – Annan first launched the idea of a working association between the world body and the international business community, “to truly make this world a better place.”

A clear example of the sort of partnership proposed by Annan is the support provided by the world’s Rotary Clubs which, backed strongly by the business community, have given more than 400 million to the World Health Organisation’s effort to eradicate polio.

“Market capitalism has no ideological rival today,” said Annan. “Its biggest threat comes from itself. If it is unable to simultaneously promote prosperity and justice, it will not triumph.”

During his stay in Davos, Annan met with CEOs of transnational companies and attended the session of the Business Consultative Group, which is evaluating the proposed partnership with the UN.

“We are defining collaborative projects with the International Chamber of Commerce,” he said.

After the meetings, Therese Gastaut, Annan’s spokeswoman in Geneva, pointed to the start of “a new era in the relations between the business community and the United Nations.”

At this year’s talks in Davos, Annan stressed the need to put that alliance into action, underlining that “the United Nations system brings to this relationship three distinct advantages: universal values, a global perspective, and concrete programmes.”

The business world will be able to function successfully in a setting that the United Nations “will help create,” Annan asserted.

He added that “my good friend Ted Turner [the founder of CNN (Cable News Network)] is placing vast resources behind an array of vital United Nations programmes.”

The first step towards the new spirit of cooperation will be the training of leaders in both spheres. The Business Consultative Group plans to propose other areas in which the business community and the UN will explore new forms of collaboration.

UNITED NATIONS: Wanted – Partners with Capital

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Feb 2 1998 (IPS) - United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan gave a new boost over the weekend to his plans for a partnership between the world body and the international business community.
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