Renewed focus on Development?
During his speech at the WEF in Davos, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced UN intentions to convene a summit in June to renew the interest of the international community on development issues. BBC reported that Annan reminded that the role of the UN is to take collective measures to ensure the security and well-being of all nations by not only focusing on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction but also by protecting “millions of our fellow men and women from the more familiar threats of poverty, hunger and deadly diseases.”
The summit in June aims to renew world interest in development after the WTO trade talks stalled due to lack of agreement on agricultural subsidies and market access issues. The summit is expected to use the Global Compact document as a starting point. In 1999, business leaders signed the document and committed to work together with UN agencies and society to support nine basic principles in the areas of human rights, labor and the environment.
Read full BBC article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3422293.stm
Learn more about the Global Compact:
http://www.unglobalcompact.org/Portal/Default.asp