Alliance for a Corporate-Free UN Sends Letter to Kofi Annan Calling for Major Changes to Global Compact

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CorpWatch

| Tuesday, January 29, 2002

January 30, 2002, NEW YORK -- Members of the Alliance for a Corporate-Free UN, a grouping of non-governmental groups from around the world, have sent a letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan outlining major proposed changes to the Global Compact.

The proposed changes include clarification that the purpose of the Global Compact is not to promote a corporate free trade agenda, addition of a monitoring component, definition of the nine principles of the Compact, provisions for public review of corporate case studies, and a requirement that Compact companies support the implementation of UN-brokered multilateral agreements.

The letter was signed by Waldon Bello, Focus on the Global South (Thailand)
John Cavanagh, Institute for Policy Studies (US), Victoria Corpuz, Tebtebba Foundation (Philippines), Jocelyn Dow, Womens Environment and Development Organization (US), Margaret Ewen, Health Action International Europe (Europe)
Susan George, Transnational Institute (the Netherlands), Alvaro Gomez, Renace (Chile), Olivier Hoedeman, Corporate Europe Observatory (the Netherlands)
Joshua Karliner, CorpWatch (US), David C. Korten, People-Centered Development Forum (Canada), Smitu Kothari, Lokayan (India), Chee Yoke Ling, Third World Network (Malaysia), Alison Linnecar, International Baby Food Action Network (Switzerland/International), James Paul, Global Policy Forum (US)
Anita Pleumaron, Tourism Investigation and Monitoring Team (Thailand)
Etienne Vernet, Ecoropa (France)

The letter to Mr. Annan was sent on the eve of the World Economic Forum, the grouping of business leaders to which the UN head proposed his Global Compact 2 years ago. Mr. Annan is expected to visit the WEF again this week at its meeting in New York.

The full text of the letter can be viewed at:

http://www.corpwatch.org/campaigns/PCD.jsp?articleid=1428

The letter is backed up by a 16-page report by CorpWatch called Greenwash + 10 -- the UN's Global Compact, Corporate Accountability and the Johannesburg Earth Summit.

AMP Section Name:Alliance for a Corporate-Free UN

101 Alliance for a Corporate-Free UN