ABSTRACT
As ‘the most creative reinvention of the UN to be seen yet’ (CSM 2000: 10), the Global Compact more than anything else symbolises the end of ‘decades of mutual hostility and suspicion’ (Capella 1999: 25), ‘sometimes antagonism’ (ICC 2001a), between the UN and business-a change that Kofi Annan, the UN SecretaryGeneral, initiated shortly after he took office in 1997 by declaring the importance of redefining the organisation’s relationship with business (Cohen 2001: 188). Thus, acknowledging the fact that ‘the goals of the United Nations and business can be mutually supportive’ (ICC 2001a), ‘the way the United Nations regards international business has changed fundamentally’ (Cattaui 1998):
In that respect the Global Compact clarifies the fact that business in general and multinational corporations (MNCs) in particular have become very important players in international relations, just as the initiative makes clear that the business community for the first time acknowledges the UN’s ‘role as a stabilising force in economic and social affairs’ (Capella 1999: 25), takes on itself broader societal responsibility and engages in international relations. At the same time, the Global Compact also proves that a new relationship between governments and the UN is evolving, with the UN taking on itself an unprecedented autonomous role visà-vis the member-state governments.
