SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS BOARD OF GLOBAL COMPACT; WORLD’S LARGEST VOLUNTARY CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP INITIATIVE

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed a group of 20 business, labour and civil society leaders from around the world to serve on the Board of the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative.

The Secretary-General’s appointments follow a comprehensive consultation process, involving all Global Compact stakeholders, including its local networks.  Each of the appointees has demonstrated a long record of commitment to the Global Compact’s mission and principles, and enjoys the support of a regional or constituency group.  The 20-member body is comprised of 10 business representatives, 4 representatives of business associations and labour groups, and 4 representatives of civil society organizations.  Ex-officio members are the Executive Head of the Global Compact Office and the Chair of the Foundation for the Global Compact.

The members of the Global Compact Board are:

Business

Talal
Abu Ghazaleh

Chairman and CEO, Talal
Ghazaleh Organization, Egypt

Jos矓ergio Gabrielli
De Azevedo

President and CEO, Petrobras, Brazil

Guillermo Carey

Senior Partner, Carey & Allende Abogados,
Chile

Chen Ying

Deputy Director General,
China Enterprise
Confederation, China

Suzanne Nora Johnson

Vice Chairman, Goldman Sachs Group, United
States

Anne Lauvergeon

Chair of the Executive Board, Areva, France

Ntombifuthi
Mtoba

Chair of the Board, Deloitte,
South Africa

B. Muthuraman

Managing Director, Tata Steel,
India

Mads
Oevlisen

Adjunct Professor and Chair, Lego,
Denmark

Hiroyuki Uemura

President and CEO, Mitsui Sumitomo
Insurance Co., Japan

International Labour and Business
Organizations

Fred Higgs

General Secretary, International
Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions

Antonio Penalosa

Secretary-General, International
Organization of Employers

Guy Ryder

General Secretary, International
Confederation of Free Trade Union

Guy Sebban

Secretary-General, International Chamber
of Commerce

Civil Society

Habiba
Al Marashi

Chair, Emirates Environmental Group,
United Arab Emirates

Oded
Grajew

President, Instituto Ethos de Empresas e Responsabilidade
Social, Brazil

Huguette
Labelle

Chair, Advisory Council, Transparency
International, Canada

Mary Robinson

Chair, Realizing Rights - The Ethical
Globalization Initiative,
Ireland

Ex-Officio

Mark Moody-Stuart

Chairman, Foundation for the Global
Compact

Georg
Kell

Executive Head, United Nations Global
Compact Office

The Global Compact Board is a key component of the initiative’s governance framework, which was introduced following a comprehensive review of the initiative conducted in 2004-2005.  (Other components include the triennial Leaders Summit -- next to be held in June 2007 -- local networks, the annual Networks Forum, the Foundation for the Global Compact and the Inter-Agency Team.)

Operating under the auspices of the Secretary-General, the Board will help ensure the Global Compact’s continuity and facilitate its further growth.  It will provide strategic advice for the initiative as a whole and make related recommendations to the United Nations Global Compact Office, participants and other stakeholders.  The Board will also play a role with regard to the implementation of the Compact’s integrity measures.  Board members will act as champions of the initiative.

The Global Compact Board will meet once a year, with the inaugural meeting planned for summer 2006 at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Also today, the creation of the Foundation for the Global Compact was noted and welcomed.  The Foundation is a non-profit entity established to help raise funds from the private sector to support the Global Compact.

The Foundation is steered by a three-member Board of Directors, headed by Mark Moody-Stuart.  Other directors are James V. Kearney, Senior Partner of Latham & Watkins LLP; and Professor Oliver F. Williams, Director of the Business Ethics Centre at Mendoza College, University of Notre Dame.

Contributions, which are entirely voluntary, will help to raise awareness of the initiative and support implementation of the Compact’s principles in business practice.

Launched in 2000, the United Nations Global Compact brings business together with United Nations agencies, labour, civil society and Governments to advance universal principles in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption.  With more than 2,500 participating companies in over 90 countries, it is the largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative in the world.  More than 50 local networks advance the Global Compact’s principles at the national and regional level. For more information, please visit www.unglobalcompact.org.

Media Contact:  Matthias Stausberg, Global Compact Office, +1-917-367-3423, stausberg@un.org.

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