Partnership Guide - Unido

THE PRINCIPLES OF THE GLOBAL COMPACT
The Global Compact, launched by the United Nations in
1999, is a platform for promoting good corporate practice
supported by a growing number of leading global companies.
Its Nine Principles are:
• Human rights
- Businesses should support and respect the protection
of internationally proclaimed human rights;
- Make sure they are not complicit in human rights
abuses.
• Labour
- Businesses should uphold the freedom of association
and the effective recognition of the right to collective
bargaining;
- All forced and compulsory labour should be eliminated;
- Child labour should be effectively abolished;
- Discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
should be eliminated.
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• Environment
- Businesses should support a precautionary approach
to environmental challenges;
- Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental
responsibility;
- Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally
friendly technologies.
Participation in the Global Compact implies that a firm
should:
• Issue a clear statement of support and engage in public
support for the Compact;
• Post a concrete example of progress made and lessons
learned on the Global Compact website* once a year;
• Undertake activities that further the realization of the
principles in partnership with United Nations organizations.
* The United Nations website which brings together activities, issues and information related to the Global Compact is
http://www.unglobalcompact.org.
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