ABSTRACT
In 1998, Kofi Annan had already engaged in a dialogue with the international business community which he called ‘mutually beneficial’. For Annan, business has a stake in the soft infrastructure produced by the UN system the norms, standards and best practices on which the smooth flow of international transactions depends, UN work on behalf of peace, human rights and development. The NGO must undertake to support the work of the UN and to promote knowledge of its principles and activities. The NGO’s programme of work must be of direct relevance to the aims and purposes of the UN. In 1974, the UN established in New York an intergovernmental Commission on Transnational Corporations (UNCTC). In 1975, a newly created UN Center on transnational corporations (TNCs) began work on a code of conduct. UNICEF has the most extensive corporate involvement of any single UN agency, but exercises ‘due diligence’ in selecting business partners.
