UN Global Compact Mandate Renewed by Member States

NEW YORK, December 20,2018 /3BL Media/— The United Nations Global Compact was today encouraged to continue engaging the private sector in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals with a renewed resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly.

The resolution, under General Assembly agenda item 27 — Towards global partnerships: A principle-based approach to enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and all relevant partners — reiterates the broad mandate of the UN Global Compact, which is “to advance United Nations values and responsible business practices within the United Nations system and among the global business community.”

UN Member States also encouraged the private sector to enhance its involvement in combating climate change, and welcomed the commitments to leadership on climate action already made by relevant stakeholders. Recognizing that the private sector has an important role to play in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Member States also called attention to the Global Compact Local Networks as helping to provide an avenue for diffusing United Nations values and principles and facilitating partnerships with business on a broad scale.

UN Member States also recognized “the vital role that the United Nations Global Compact Office continues to play with regard to strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to partner strategically with the private sector.” In this context, the resolution expressed support for the work of the UN Global Compact to encourage all businesses to adopt principles for responsible business and investing and to take account of the environmental, social and governance impacts of their activities.  The key role of the integrity measures of the UN Global Compact was also emphasized as Members States are looking for best practices and ways to improve transparency and accountability in multi-stakeholder partnerships involving the UN.

UN Global Compact CEO & Executive Director Lise Kingo commented: “We thank the UN Member States for their expression of strong confidence towards the work of the UN Global Compact and for renewing their support to us.  We welcome the Member States’ emphasis on accountability, transparency, coherence and risk management in UN-business collaboration, and look forward to continuing our work to ensure that partnerships deliver tangible impact in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.”

The progress of the UN Global Compact in engaging the private sector to implement responsible business practices and support UN goals will next be reviewed in 2021.