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Annan Says First "Global Compact" Initiative Off to Good Start
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday that first high-level meeting of the "Global Compact" had been very stimulating and that the participants had agreed to a number of steps to take the "Global Compact" further.
At a press conference following the conclusion of the meeting, Annan said "We are off to a good start," noting that the progress made at the meeting would help make the Compact truly global and operational.
First initiated by the Secretary-General at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 1999, the "Global Compact" challenges world business leaders to promote and apply nine widely accepted principles drawn from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labor Organization's Fundamental Principles on Rights at Work and the Rio Principles on environment and development.
The meeting brought together nearly 50 leaders from global business, international movement and civil society.
Annan said "Companies have great influence, great reach and they can set very good examples."
The U.N. chief said the United Nations was trying to implement values that already have been negotiated and agreed to by business.
"We are not trying to create anew code of conduct, but to put teeth into existing standards," he added.
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