June 26, 2003
UN Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette has replied to the heads of four leading NGOs who expressed misgivings about aspects of the UN Global Compact's operation and direction. Earlier this month, the UN Deputy Secretary-General replied to a letter from Oxfam International, Amnesty International, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch. Despite commending many aspects of the Compact, the NGOs' letter suggested that the organisations' continuing participation in the UN initiative is the subject of debate within the respective organisations. The problem is the lack of tangible evidence of progress on several fronts.
The overall issue addressed in the letter was that of accountability. After listing all the ways in which accountability mechanisms required by the Compact have been increasingly weakened over time by the Secretariat, the letter asked that it find ways to strengthen methods of accountability for the private sector.
The letter asked also that the Compact be more specific about what constitutes a breach of its principles, and that the language used to address this issue be made more precise.
Expressing concern that the latest version of the Compact's mission statement says that "[t]he Global Compact Office neither regulates nor monitors a company's submissions and initiatives", the letter requested that the Secretariat:
monitor whether companies are in fact reporting;
remind companies that do not that they are required to do so; and
on an annual basis, make a public assessment of the overall quality of the information companies provide. The letter then asked that the UN and companies participating in the Global Compact must show leadership on the human rights principles. It requested that the UN apply the Compact's principles in its procurement decisions, and that this idea be debated in the Advisory Council.
The letter also requested that local human rights or other NGOs be excluded from participating in the Global Compact and expresses the hope that local initiatives will be monitored to insure involvement of all relvant stakeholders.
On June 3, UN Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette replied to the heads of four civil society organisations who had authored the letter, expressing optimism on all issues.
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