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Amnesty International Study Guide
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY-‐GENERAL ............................................................................ 3
II. LETTER FROM THE UNDER SECRETARY-‐GENERAL ............................................................... 4
III. COMMITTEE INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 5 B. DECISION MAKING MECHANISM OF THE AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ..................................................... 7
IV. TOPIC INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 7
V. PATHWAY TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS: MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS) .................................................................................................................................... 9 A. ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY& HUNGER ................................................................................... 14 B. ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION ................................................................................... 14 C. PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN .................................................................. 15 D. ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY ................................................................................... 16 E. DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT .................................................................... 17
VI. SCRUTINY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS) ............................................ 20
VII. THE ONGOING ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE CORPORATIONS ............................................... 24 A. TOMS ................................................................................................................................. 24 B. MICROSOFT CORPORATIONS ...................................................................................................... 25 C. SANDOZ .............................................................................................................................. 26 D. ROYAL DUTCH SHELL ............................................................................................................... 27 E. BRITISH PETROLEUM ................................................................................................................ 28 F. UNILEVER ............................................................................................................................ 29
VIII. AN ANTICIPATORY ROLE OF CORPORATIONS WITH UNITED NATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF SDGS ................................................................................................................................. 30 A. ROLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS .................................................................................................. 31 1. Global Compact .............................................................................................................. 31 2. United Nations Office for Partnerships ........................................................................... 34
B. ROLE OF THE CORPORATIONS ..................................................................................................... 35
IX. THE EFFECTS OF AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL UPON THE COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN UNITED NATIONS AND CORPORATIONS ................................................................................. 36
X. POINTS THAT A REPORT SHOULD COVER ......................................................................... 38
XI. CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 39
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I. Letter from the Secretary-‐General
Most distinguished participants,
Firstly, I would like to welcome you all to the third edition of Koç University Model United
Nations Conference (KUMUN). My name is Emre İlker Karataş and I have the honor and pleasure
to serve you as the Secretary-‐General of this edition of KUMUN. Under the umbrella of the Koç
University MUN Club, KUMUN has been growing ever since its start. In its third edition, we are
proud to say that KUMUN will be a one-‐of-‐a-‐kind boutique conference of crisis simulations.
Bearing in mind the theme of “Bringing Order to Chaos”, we have chosen one of the most
important International Human Rights Advocacy Groups in the world: Amnesty International.
The participants of this committee will elaborate on the Corporation’s part in achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals, which are a milestone for achieving global prosperity.
The composition of this committee required dedication and great interest in international
human rights law. For his amazing work, I would like to thank my friend Mr. Fatih Göktuğ İpin,
Under-‐Secretary-‐General responsible of the Amnesty International.
Lastly, I would like to say that even though these committees are designed to be of high quality,
keep in mind that they are also designed for you to enjoy the academic content. Therefore, I
would like to finish my words with saying that you should enjoy while you are bringing order to
the world with using Multinational Corporations. Should you have any questions regarding the
content, you can contact the Academic Team through [email protected]
Sincerely,
Emre İlker Karataş
Secretary-‐General of KUMUN 2016
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II. Letter from the Under Secretary-‐General
Honorable Participants of the 3rd annual edition of Koç University Model United Nations
Conference,
My name is Fatih Göktuğ İpin and I stand humble before you as the Under-‐Secretary General of
Amnesty International. I am a freshman at Koç University, Department of International
Relations and you can believe that KUMUN is a conference, which can offer you cognizing the
ongoing and historic problems right along with the best social events.
This year’s KUMUN opens a new door for Model UN society: Amnesty International. For the first
time in Turkey, one of the most crowded nongovernmental organizations will be simulated with
only 9 esteemed delegates who know the drill and increase the flow of debate. The Amnesty
International gives a chance to spotlight the missing or underestimated problems from all
around the World. Yet, the committee has a special agenda item, namely “Regarding the
Strategic Position of Corporations with the United Nations under the Scope of Sustainable
Development Goals” The topic is really “pink elephants” despite their having huge effects on
people and it remains waiting to be solved. In addition to this, since the Amnesty International
has a very different system from normal Model UN committees, at the end of the conference,
we will have a detailed and well-‐written report. Hence, the valid mechanism for decision
process will be written down. For this purpose, I would like to suggest you to read the Study
Guide, Secretary-‐General Report and Rules of Procedure carefully, and scale the problems from
different aspects.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any kind of question on your mind.
Kind Regards,
Fatih Göktuğ İpin
Under-‐Secretary-‐General Responsible for Amnesty International
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III. Committee Introduction
The Amnesty International is a humanitarian non-‐governmental organization which is focused
on human right abuses from very different perspectives and raises public awareness with its
pure and feasible reports; outmaneuvering the cruel governments since 1962 by Peter
Benenson, an English lawyer.
The operational system of Amnesty International is based on its volunteers; however the
decisions of Amnesty International tell another story. With the same procedural system with the
United Nations Ad Hoc Committees, Amnesty International harbors an advisory committee to
make the association be in order, namely, the International Board. The International Board
consists of nine plenipotentiaries, each of whom is a member of Amnesty International and
professional human rights experts as well. They are elected to hold office by the biennial
sessions of International Council Meeting (ICM) with limited duration of 4 years. However, it is
possible for the re-‐elections in every ICMs. Each member is acceptable for re-‐election for a
maximum of two consecutive terms.
The role of the International Board is to give guidance for the development of Amnesty
International with its advices while keeping the regional problems in mind. The main goals of
the International Board is such as but not limited to:
• ensuring the movement’s consent with Amnesty International's official standing rule and
context
• assuring establishment of Amnesty International's Integrated Strategic Plan
• ensuring the sound financial management of Amnesty International at the international
level
• providing consent for the establishment of sections, structures and other bodies of
Amnesty International
• holding sections, structures and other bodies of Amnesty International culpable for their
working by presenting reports to the International Council Meeting
• making international decisions on behalf of Amnesty International
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• ensuring human resources development1
A. History of Amnesty International
In an article, the forgotten prisoners appeared in The Observer newspaper of London in 1961. In
the same year, British lawyer Peter Benenson got a chance to write an article about the global
trend in The Observer of London2. He illustrated his disgust about the imprisonment, torture
and even execution of people caused by their political or religious perspectives, which are
unacceptable for the governments. Benenson took offense by the story of two Portuguese
students who were sentenced to seven years of imprisonment because of their all-‐out efforts
for freedom. This ruling prompted him to commit to paper the momentous article, which states
his vision of collective action that identifies Amnesty International’s work for 54 years.3
Amnesty International (also referred as the AI) has designated and expressed the steps of
successful evolution of ideas to reality. Firstly, the human rights experts prepare impartial,
double-‐checked research and reports, which include only facts about the ongoing problems. As
a second step, the AI gets in touch with its contacts to put the officials under pressure via
media. Throughout this evolution of an idea, the community uses an initiative to write letters to
officials, commence campaigns and even protests against human rights abuses. By this means,
Amnesty International uses gamut of actors in today’s world to achieve its goal. 4
Amnesty International expanded from a single office to one of the biggest human rights
organizations, with its independence from governments, and meticulous accuracy of
information. On behalf of the organization, Amnesty International was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1977 for "having contributed to securing the ground for freedom, for justice, and
thereby also for peace in the world". Amnesty International celebrated its 50th anniversary in
1 Amnesty.org,. 'International Board | Amnesty International'. N.p., 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. 2 "Amnesty International (AI) | International Organization". Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Apr. 2016. 3 "Amnesty International - History". Nobelprize.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Apr. 2016. 4 Amnesty International,. 'Amnesty International 50Th Anniversary: Facts And Figures'. N.p., 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
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2012, with global actions focusing on the death penalty, freedom of expression, contravention to
international justice and ongoing corporate abuse.5
As the last roll call, with 3 million proponents, activists and members from more than 150
countries and territories, Amnesty International stands against any kind of cruelty against
human rights.6
B. Decision Making Mechanism of the Amnesty International
As mentioned above, International Board of the Amnesty International has 9 members and its
own procedural system maintains under the umbrella of itself. Besides, the experts have a say in
the final document. Whether they agree on the final report in order to file to the Secretary-‐
General of Amnesty International or not, the esteemed members could weigh in the report with
their notions. All the spoken topics and expressed results will be written down by the
Rapporteur and the last report will contain all the ideas of members of the house. Even so, the
distinguished members will share the ideas without such boundaries.
The Amnesty International Advisory Panel has nine members and these members came from
the different regions, which are selected by acknowledging the geographical and harnessed for
a variety of reasons. Each member has one vote for decision making process and none of them
has a “veto power” as so some members of the United Nations Security Council or each
member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
IV. Topic Introduction
Since the establishment of Amnesty International, the World and its leaders try to solve
different issues. However, because of the political differences between West and East and the
lack of support by both sides to the regions in help. The Millennium Development Goals were
commenced for indicating the major problems of the World by outlining 8 titles, with the
acceptance of the leaders of all countries in the beginning of a new millennium. However, the
5 Amnesty.org,. 'International Board | Amnesty International'. N.p., 2015. Web. 9 Dec. 2015. 6 Amnesty International,. 'Amnesty International 50Th Anniversary: Facts And Figures'. N.p., 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
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solution for the major problems does not only have the collaboration between the United
Nations and its member states. There is also one more trivet of this scheme, namely
corporations.
The participation of the corporations in this scheme is questionable, since most of the
corporations have bidirectional door. For example, due to some reasons, some corporations
may have helped Africa, invested huge amount of money and uplift the region. On the other
side, the corporation may contravene goals such as Millennium Development Goals 3:
Promoting Gender Equality and Empower Women. For these kinds of reasons, Amnesty
International pleads the voice of the people who suffer from the violations of law and human
rights.
Indeed, the Millennium Development Goals could be the first global success of the United
Nations. Nevertheless, there are some missing points or violations. To improve the success and
to maintain the progress in developing regions, the United Nations announced that the
Millennium Development Goals are reestablished with Sustainable Development Goals. During
the preparation of Sustainable Development Goals, some general titles are split up, especially to
observe and interfere in the human rights abuses in business and private sector. The laws’
hands are tied and not efficient to reply these abuses. Consequently, the Sustainable
Development Goals guide the nations and the third parties to focus the missing or unobserved
points more and more. In order to resolve these points and begin to hope, the support and
participation of NGOs and IGOs are indispensable.
In fact, 51 of the 100 largest economic entities are corporations7. With the participation of 9
experts, the Amnesty International will discuss about the future of Sustainable Development
Goals, its impacts on the corporations, the violations made by corporations and the future role
of corporations, under the title of “Corporate Social Responsibility and its Relation with the
Sustainable Development Goals”
7 "Of The World's 100 Largest Economic Entities, 51 Are Now Corporations And 49 Are Countries (2000)". Corporations.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
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V. Pathway to Sustainable Development Goals: Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
"Eradicating extreme poverty continues to be one of the main challenges of our time,
and is a major concern of the international community. Ending this scourge will require
the combined efforts of all, governments, civil society organizations and the private
sector, in the context of a stronger and more effective global partnership for
development. The Millennium Development Goals set timebound targets, by which
progress in reducing income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter and
exclusion — while promoting gender equality, health, education and environmental
sustainability — can be measured. They also embody basic human rights — the rights of
each person on the planet to health, education, shelter and security. The Goals are
ambitious but feasible and, together with the comprehensive United Nations
development agenda, set the course for the world’s efforts to alleviate extreme poverty
by 2015. "
United Nations Secretary-‐General BAN Ki-‐moon
The General Assembly of the United Nations had decided to shape the fifty-‐fifth session of itself
by the resolution 53/202 of 17 December 1998; and named the fifty-‐fifth session as “The
Millennium Assembly of the United Nations”. United Nations Headquarters in New York was
honored to be the place where the Millennium Summit was held between the days of 6-‐8
September 2000.8 The main principles of goals could be related with Asian economic crisis
which had erupted between 1997 and 1998 and its aftereffects, the ongoing turbulent of Cold
War and limited results of Latin American countries in the sequel of economic crises.9 189
Heads of State or Heads of Government and respected officials from 189 countries attended
this very session. 10
8 Un.org,. 'United Nations Conferences, Meetings And Events'. N.p., 2015. Web. 6 Dec. 2015. 9 McArthur, John. 'The Origins Of The Millennium Development Goals'. SAIS Review 34.2 (2014): n. pag. Web. 6 Dec. 2015. 10 United Nations Department of Public Information,. 'The Millennium Development Goals'. N.p., 2015. Web. 6 Dec. 2015.
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At this summit, which was the most crowded throughout the history, world leaders adopted
the United Nations Millennium Declaration which aimed to bring their nations together to
establish a new, comprehensive global partnership to diminish extreme poverty, regulating a
series of targets to be satisfied by 2015 with a review every 5 years: the Millennium
Development Goals (hereafter referred as MDGs).11 The MDGs had the highest possibility to fail
because of the fact that they were the most comprehensive targets so far and created for
development at the country level, first ever the United Nations’ attempt at taking regional and
international steps with a different context since its foundation.12
Through the MDGs, the world has deciphered the need to at least halve global poverty and the
fundamental tools to be taken into consideration for achieving 8-‐point objectives. It has also
provided additional initiation point to give government’s role to achieve sustainable
development issues. In addition, it has brought local and international attention towards
human centered development.13
"The Millennium Development Goals were adopted five years ago by all the world's
Governments as a blueprint for building a better world in the 21st century."
Kofi Annan
the Former Secretary-‐General of the United Nations
The targets were as follows:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Reduce by half the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day
11 Unmillenniumproject.org,. 'UN Millennium Project | About The Mdgs'. N.p., 2015. Web. 6 Dec. 2015. 12 Moon, Ban Ki. 'Why The Mdgs Are Important, Where We Stand, And Why We’Re Falling Short'. N.p., 2015. Web. 8 Dec. 2015. 13 Liu, Yanping. "Establishing Modern Concept Of Wealth, Prompting Chinese Social Sustainable Development". JSD 3.4 (2010): n. pag. Web.
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• Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young
people
• Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
• Ensure that all boys and girls could finalize a full course of primary school education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
• Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and in all
levels of education no later than 2015
4. Reduce child mortality
• Reduce by two thirds the mortality of children under five
5. Improve maternal health
• Reduce maternal mortality by three quarters
• Achieve universal access to reproductive health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
• Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it
• Halt and reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
• Integrate principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes; reverse
the loss of environmental resources
• Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss
12
• Halve the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
• Improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020
8. Develop a global partnership for development
• Develop further an open, rule-‐based, predictable, non-‐discriminatory trading and financial
system
• Address special needs of the least developed countries, landlocked countries and small island
developing States
• Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt
• In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in
developing countries
• In cooperation with the private sector, make
available the benefits of new technologies,
especially information and communications
technologies14
Consistently, sustainability was constructed in the
three-‐pillar model: Economy, Ecology and Society
and they are all considered to be interconnected
and relevant for sustainability.15 Nevertheless,
these Goals does not only reflect economic aims,
global justice, and fundamental human rights but
they are also vital to nation-‐wide and international
14 United Nations Foundation,. 'The Millennium Development Goals'. N.p., 2015. Web. 8 Dec. 2015. 15 Sathaye, Jayant. "Renewable Energy In The Context Of Sustainable Development". Ecommons.udayton.edu. N.p., 2016. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.
Figure 1: The list of the Millennium Development Goals1
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security issues and stability, as underlined by the High-‐Level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and
Change.16
“We should address the situations and factors that have the potential to sow terrorism, namely,
poverty, denial, deprivation, oppression, and injustice.”
President of Tanzania, Benjamin Mkapa
After the declaration of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, there arose the
need for the existence of some supportive organizations to achieve the goals. Firstly, under the
commission of the Secretary-‐General of the United Nations, the establishment of The
Millennium Project was for developing a plan for the succeeding in achieving the targets set by
the MDGs, in 2002. The all-‐out effort and process commenced to display its results at the
beginning of 2005. Professor Jeffrey Sachs and his independent advisory body presented their
final suggestions to the Secretary-‐General under the report named “Investing in Development:
A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals”.17 This article contains 10
thematic Task Forces which accounts for more than 250 experts from around the world,
including representatives from non-‐governmental organizations, the United Nations, the
International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the private sector; researches and scientists. The
suggestions outlined a way for country-‐level solutions and pointed out the importance of the
MDGs and assistance of public and private sector for achieving these goals.
The Secretariat became a part of this advisory team throughout 2006 so as to achieve targets.
The project team was transferred to the United Nations Development Programme (hereinafter
UNDP), hence the Millennium Project has been handed on to the MDG Support team of the
UNDP.18
16 Moon, Ban Ki. 'Why The Mdgs Are Important, Where We Stand, And Why We’Re Falling Short'. Un Millennium Project. N.p., 2015. Web. 8 Dec. 2015. 17 "UN Millennium Project | Welcome To Our Historic Site". Unmillenniumproject.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. 18 Unmillenniumproject.org,. "UN Millennium Project | Welcome To Our Historic Site". N.p., 2016. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.
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A. Eradicate Extreme Poverty& Hunger
As one of the most crucial challenges around the World, poverty remains to be solved. Extreme
poverty has decreased substantially over the last two decades.19 In 1990, nearly half of people
lived on less than $1.25 a day in developing countries; that percentage dropped to 14 percent
in 2015.20 Globally, the number of people, who have to live in extreme poverty, has
demonstrably fallen from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015, after the establishment of
Millennium Development Goals. The number of middle-‐class people—living on more than $4
for a day—has approximately tripled during this two and a half decades.21 This group now
makes up half of the workforce in developing regions, with barely just 18 percent in 1991. The
proportion of undernourished people in developing regions has dropped to approximately half
since 1990, from 23.3 percent in 1990–1992 to 12.9 percent in 2014–2016.22
B. Achieve Universal Primary Education
The motive of the United Nations to have such goal like MDG-‐2: Achieve Universal Primary
Education will accelerate progress toward each one of the MDGs, since education could reduce
not only poverty and balance gender equality, but also child mortality race and damage of
people towards environment. The association between Goal 2 and Goal 3 could not be
connived, especially in gender parity.23 The gap between women and men has narrowed. The
primary school enrollment rate in the developing regions has reached the peak with 91 percent
in 2015. The number of children, who had quit or have not a chance to continue to its
education, of primary school age worldwide has fallen by approximately half, to an estimated
19 Galatsidas, Achilleas, and Finbarr Sheehy. "What Have The Millennium Development Goals Achieved?". the Guardian. N.p., 2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. 20 Galatsidas, Achilleas, and Finbarr Sheehy. "What Have The Millennium Development Goals Achieved?". the Guardian. N.p., 2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2016 21 İbid. 22 Moon, Ban Ki. 'The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015'. Millennium Goals. N.p., 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. 23 Unicef.org,. "UNICEF - Goal: Achieve Universal Primary Education". N.p., 2016. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.
15
57 million in 2015, down from 100 million in 2000. The literacy rate in youth aged 15 to 24 has
increased globally from 83 percent to 91 percent between 1990 and 2015. 24
C. Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
Teaching gender parity to the world is closest to being achieved at the primary level; however,
only 2 out of 130 countries have achieved that target at all levels of education. Unfortunately,
this shows us that the world has a long way to achieve this target.
Globally, 40 out of 100 wage-‐earning jobs in the sectors, that are not agriculture-‐based, are
held by women. But women still share the labor market on an unequal basis to men, even after
their own educational background and skills.
According to the data published in October 2013, women were 21.8 percent of delegates in
parliaments in single or lower houses and 19.4 percent of Senate or upper positions, up from 12
percent and 10.1 percent in January 1997, respectively. At the pace observed during the last 15
years, it will take approximately 40 years to reach the parity zone in parliaments.25
According to the Secretary-‐General's report "Challenges and achievements in the
implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls", while the three
pillars under Goal 3 have a reflection to important
dimensions of gender inequality, focuses of Goal 3
fail to address critical issues such as violence against
women, inequality in the division of unpaid care
work, lack of women’s access to assets, violations of
women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health
and rights, and their disproportionate participation in
private and public decision-‐making beyond national
24 Headquarters,. "Progress Towards Meeting The Mdgs For Women And Girls". N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. 25 "Progress Towards Meeting The Mdgs For Women And Girls". Headquarters. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
16
parliaments. In today’s world, women spend on average twice as much time than men on
unpaid domestic work. The report stresses that unless all liabilities of gender inequality are
addressed and done, the Millennium Development Goal of gender equality and women’s
empowerment cannot be achieved.26
As has been reported throughout the monitoring process witnessed by the more than 30
organizations in the Task Force, there have been significant developments pointing to an
international all-‐out effort to comprehend accepted targets during the MDG period, but there
still exists several deficits in international cooperation for development. As it is mentioned
above, the Goal 3 needs to be achieved immediately, since several countries did not even
attend the programme or could have had slight change regarding gender equality from the
beginning of the millennium.27
D. Ensure Environmental Sustainability
One of the major problems of the world is the maintenance of nature, and the United Nations
tried to solve this problem with the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. Despite this fact, some of the
economically developed countries rejected to sign this agreement for increasing carbon
emission so as not to limit the growth of their industries.28
Bearing this fact in mind, the 7th Goal became even more important. Indeed, the work for this
goal is reducing biodiversity loss and halves the proportion of the population without access to
drinking water and basic sanitation in general by 2015. 29To achieve this goal, the participation
of the governments was really essential. Fortunately they did not refuse this ‘call of mother
nature’ and united for saving the world from the chaos. As a result, more than 1.9 billion people
gained sanitation facilities in 21 years.30
26 "United Nations Official Document". Un.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. 27 Ibid. 28 www.acceleration.net, Acceleration. "Kyotoprotocol - Toward Climate Stability". Kyotoprotocol.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. 29 Millennium Development Goals And Beyond 2015. 1st ed. United Nations, 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. 30 Sanitation. 1st ed. United Nations, 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
17
Although more land and marine areas are under protection, many species of birds, mammals
and other species are disappearing at a fast pace. In response to this, a significant progress has
been made to increase the coverage of these protected areas. However, the extinction of
species gets faster day by day.31 Due to the usage of forest products, the largest net loss of
forest has occurred in South America, which is numerically 3.6 million hectares per year and is
still increasing. The point is, the deforestation is not only important for sustainability but also
crucial for poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods.32
The Montreal Protocol has united countries to reduce consumption of ozone-‐depleting
substances to the 98 percent since 1986. Because most of these substances are greenhouse
gases, the Protocol made contribution to the protection of the climate system and luckily,
global carbon dioxide emissions decreased by more than 46 percent since 1990, with a five
percent increase between 2009 and 2010. Growth in global emissions has accelerated, rising 33
percent from 2000 to 2010.33 Underlining this growth demands coordinated national and
international action. The goal was to sign a new international agreement by 2015 and begin its
implementation in 2020, thereby taking decisive steps towards averting precise changes in the
global climate system.
On October 1, 2015, within the signatures of 195 countries, Paris Agreement has been
launched.34 The main comments upon this agreement were shortly stated as “historic turning
point for our future”.35
E. Develop a Global Partnership for Development
‘Universality’ seems to be a code for not only special but also tougher targets on global issues
like trade or finance. G77 and other countries specifically have clarified that their interests
31 Mitchell, Alanna. "The 1,300 Bird Species Facing Extinction Signal Threats To Human Health". News.nationalgeographic.com. N.p., 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. 32 Watts, Jonathan. "Amazon Deforestation Report Is Major Setback For Brazil Ahead Of Climate Talks". the Guardian. N.p., 2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. 33 World Energy Outlook 2010. Paris: International Energy Agency, 2010. Print. 34 "Nearly 200 Nations Adopt Climate Agreement At COP21 Talks In Paris". NPR.org. N.p., 2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. 35 "With Landmark Climate Accord, World Marks Turn From Fossil Fuels". Reuters. N.p., 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
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haven’t changed after 2015 negotiations; they demand to see progress on trade, migration, and
the other topics that are part of their core national interests.
Countries are going to have to get to these issues, if there is to be a deal. When they do, they
will have to balance the political difficulty of compromising in many areas with the different
potential profits if deals are made, to decide upon the priorities and the location of political
firepower, which needs much more concentration.
Negotiations on a global partnership are in political quagmire and within the limits of what
countries know, countries aim to transgress this quagmire. They left out the debate on
humanitarian aid and privileged finance, since that has its own dynamic. There are huge caveats
about comparability and reliability of the different estimates, but a general picture emerges
from the table below. In 2009, the approximate value of development assistance globally was
around $173 billion.36
REFORM
Developing countries (USD
billion)
World (USD
billion)
Labor Migration
Partial removal of migration barriers (income
effects) 58-‐136 288-‐1600
Partial removal of migration barriers
(remittance effects) 75-‐183 n/a
36 Renewed Partnership For Development. 1st ed. New York: United Nations, 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
19
Measures to reduce remittance costs 16 ..
Diaspora bonds issuance (SSA only) 5-‐10 ..
Trade and Investment
Implementing Doha Formula Cuts 47-‐62 163-‐202
Implementing Doha with Flexibility 22-‐31 94-‐121
Tackling trade mispricing 125-‐160 ..
Improving FDI income retention 22 ..
Development Finance
Tackling illicit capital inflows 20-‐215 692
Carbon tax .. 155-‐450
Financial Transaction Tax .. 70-‐661
International Billionaire's Tax .. 40-‐50
Special Drawing Rights (leveraging / new
issuance) 100-‐270 ..
Table 1: Source. theguardian.com, The De Rigueur Expenditure of Countries for Global Partnership
The massive reforms are about migration, trade mispricing and illicit capital flows, on which
there is a little progress, though slow. There is not a certain global consensus on migration even
when Turkey and Jordan are full of refugees coming from Syria and Palestine, despite the
20
contributions of the European Union and Canada. New taxes and Special Drawing Rights could
raise huge amounts of money theoretically, but the administrative and political issues in first
raising the money and then using it for development purposes might also be formidable.37
In addition to this table, as of 2015, a mobile-‐cellular signal reached to 95 percent of the
world’s population. The number of mobile-‐cellular accounts has grown almost tenfold in the
last 15 years, from 738 million in 2000 to more than 7 billion in 2015. The influence of the
Internet has grown from just over 6 percent of the world’s population in 2000 to 43 percent in
2015. As a result, 3.2 billion people are linked to a global network to approach data.38
The main determinant of a future global partnership will be a political deal, not the numbers.
But numbers can help remind those in charge about what’s really important, and for whom.
VI. Scrutiny of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Extreme poverty and undernourishment in developing regions have been halved since 1990,
majorly after the establishment of MDGs in 2000. Access to improved drinking water sources
has raised from 76 to 91 percent. Furthermore, the maternal mortality has decreased 45
percent worldwide, however, the conditions of birth in rural versus urban areas is distinctly
varied. Attendance of appropriate health personnel at birth is 56 to 87 percent in rural and
urban areas respectively; these rates differ even more in Central Africa from 32 to 84 percent.39
Alongside this improvement, unsolved issues persist, especially in South Asia and Sub-‐
Saharan Africa. Women and young people are more likely to live in poverty. In the Middle East
poverty is projected to rise by 32 percent in few years due to war, civil unrest, refugee problem
and related issues. The UN Under-‐Secretary-‐General for economic and social affairs, Wu
Hongbo wrote: "Millions of people are being left behind, especially the poorest and those
disadvantaged because of their sex, age, disability, ethnicity, or geographic location." Indicating
37 Melamed, Clarie. "What Global Partnership For Post-2015? | Overseas Development Institute (ODI)". Odi.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. 38 Millennium Development Goals Report 2015. 1st ed. New York: United Nations, 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. 39 Feng, Josh. "How Successful Were The Millennium Development Goals? A Final Report | New Security Beat". New Security Beat. N.p., 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
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that minorities of different sorts are at higher risks of being affected by lower living standards
MDGs tried to eradicate.40 As UN Secretary-‐General Ban Ki-‐Moon mentions: “We need to tackle
root causes and do more to integrate the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of
sustainable development,” MDG targets are not fulfilled and it is essential to investigate the
causality of global problems by focusing on enhanced data and overseeing those minorities.41
Bearing in mind the postive and negative outcomes of the MDGs, the Heads of States gathered
to discuss about the 15-‐year plan, which is going to succeed the Millennium Development
Goals. For this reason, the Sustainable Development Summit was organized at the United
Nations Headquarters in New York between 25 and 27 September 2015. The preparation
process of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goes far beyond the MDGs, reports
regarding the outcomes of the MDGs. Fortunately, the 17 main goal and their 169 targets were
set by the United Nations and came into effect on 1 January 2016. The targets will guide the
decisions for the next 15 years and all of the governments agreed together to work to
implement the agenda within their own countries and also at the regional and global level,
taking into account different national capacities and respecting national policies and priorities.
The list of Sustainable Development Goals is as follows;
Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable
agriculture
Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-‐being for all at all ages
Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning
opportunities for all
Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
40 "United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda". United Nations Sustainable Development. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. 41 Feng, Josh. "How Successful Were The Millennium Development Goals? A Final Report | New Security Beat". New Security Beat. N.p., 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
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Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment and decent work for all
Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and
foster innovation
Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable
development
Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably
manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt
biodiversity loss
Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access
to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for
Sustainable Development
The private sector and business plays a special role in Sustainable Development Goals,
especially for Global Partnership. For this purpose, whether the company is multinational or
local, the aim, vision and the plans should be made under the scope of the Sustainable
Development Goals. United Nations makes a call for the companies to help reach ‘zero poverty’
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both in national systems and internationally, of both public and private sector according to
Article 41 and Article 67.42
42 "Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda For Sustainable Development.:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform". Sustainabledevelopment.un.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.
INFO BOX
Article 41 of the Draft Outcome Document of the Sustainable Development Summit
We recognize that each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development. The new Agenda deals with the means required for implementation of the Goals and targets. We recognize that these will include the mobilization of financial resources as well as capacity-‐building and the transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favorable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed. Public finance, both domestic and international, will play a vital role in providing essential services and public goods and in catalyzing other sources of finance. We acknowledge the role of the diverse private sector, ranging from micro-‐enterprises to cooperatives to multinationals, and that of civil society organizations and philanthropic organizations in the implementation of the new Agenda.
Article 67 of the Draft Outcome Document of the Sustainable Development Summit
Private business activity, investment and innovation are major drivers of productivity, inclusive economic growth and job creation. We acknowledge the diversity of the private sector, ranging from micro-‐enterprises to cooperatives to multinationals. We call on all businesses to apply their creativity and innovation to solving sustainable development challenges. We will foster a dynamic and well-‐functioning business sector, while protecting labor rights and environmental and health standards in accordance with relevant international standards and agreements and other on-‐going initiatives in this regard, such as the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the labor standards of ILO, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and key multilateral environmental agreements, for parties to those agreements.
"Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda For Sustainable Development .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform". Sustainabledevelopment.un.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.
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VII. The Ongoing Actions Taken by the Corporations
For some of the Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals, there
could be one example instead of two, since within the context of some goals, the corporations
could not do harm against the motive or flow of the goals. Some of the examples for
derogations and improvements of corporations are added under this topic. However the
examples are not limited and they should not evoke the experts’ strident manners against the
corporations.
A. TOMS
TOMS is a clothing brand, which produces eyeglasses, bags and especially shoes. The motto of
TOMS is “Buying a Pair Gives a Pair” since its establishment and they believe that giving a pair
of TOMS to the poor children increases their health and confidence.43 However, Western
world’s attempts to make itself sympathetic from the aspect of buyers, are not in line with a
sustainable business model.44 Buy-‐one-‐give-‐one companies could work, especially when a
consumer thinks that buying a good for him/her will help the people in Africa. TOMS is a
company that has such a campaign, however this “giving a hand to shoe-‐less children” also
caused competition with local businesses. Plus, the total amount of money, which is spent for
buying a pair of TOMS, is equal to tens of pairs. A recent piece by Sarika Bansal in the New York
Times indicated that TOMS might be guessing wrong:
“On a recent trip to Ethiopia I met with Toms’ employees, who said that shoes promote
education because children are often barred from entering schools barefoot. However, when I
met one of their core Ethiopian giving partners, the International Orthodox Christian Charities, I
learned that they distribute the shoes in schools—to children who, presumably, already own
shoes. This situation is not unique. Some children in Toms’ promotional material are also
wearing shoes, though they may be inappropriate for school or playground use.” 45
43 Toms.com,. "TOMS : One For One". N.p., 2016. Web. 2 Mar. 2016. 44 Okayafrica.,. "The Trouble With TOMS | Okayafrica.". N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. 45 Butler, Kiera. "Do Toms Shoes Really Help People?". Mother Jones. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Feb. 2016.
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B. Microsoft Corporations
Microsoft opened a new period for the humankind, “Age of Technology”. With Bill Gates’ crazy
idea, the computer is boiled down to daily usage; the prices are reduced for people to afford
them easily; and most importantly, approximately 85 percent of the computers work with
Microsoft hardware in the United States.46
Through the history of Microsoft, the company had a partnership with the United Nations
agency, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to apply technology and
skills to help and protect refugees during the war in Kosovo.
In addition to this fact, the Chairman of Microsoft Corporations, Bill Gates had worked for
Millennium Development Goals Advocacy Group for several years. During the Gates’
administration, Microsoft had launched its investments, namely “Partners in Learning” and
“Community Technology Skills Program”. Under the scope of “Partners in Learning”, both
teachers and students increase their own capacities and promote the learning process by using
Microsoft products. The motive of Community Technology Skills Program is to teach young or
old people how to use ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), which is simply
necessary for staying in business so as to halve poverty as it is mentioned in Millennium
Development Goals Tasks.47
Microsoft believes that support of women in the IT Workplace could not change and therefore,
Microsoft has created and supported organizations and programs for women in the high-‐tech
industry. In particular, Microsoft supports gender equality and women’s empowerment
through Microsoft Unlimited Potential program that supports education and teachers, brings
technology into the classroom and promotes young people’s interest in both science and
creativity, supporting higher education and research, promotes entrepreneurship in local
communities and supports technology skills training.
46 "Mac Shipments Continue To Shrink As Apple Loses Ground In US PC Market". AppleInsider. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. 47 "Never Too Old To Learn". Microsoft.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
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However, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is known with his words for women at an industry
conference in 2014. He mentioned unnecessary nature of the women, working in technology
jobs, demanding pay raises and waiting for fairly paid compensations. After a barrage of
criticism, he apologized but maintained to say that the company paid men and women
equally.48 Plus, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, men in the tech-‐industry were
paid about 24 percent more than their female colleagues last year.49
C. SANDOZ
Sandoz is the generic pharmaceuticals division of Novartis leading the sector globally with over
26,500 employees, wide range of affordable products ranging from medicine to active
pharmaceutical and biotechnological substances developed, produced and marketed in more
than 160 countries. Sandoz made USD 9.2 billion in 2013 for sales and has a portfolio filled with
nearly 1.100 molecules half of them being differentiate products that are harder to develop and
manufacture compared to standard generics. The company is first in global market of
biosimilars, generics injectable, ophthalmic, dermatology, antibiotics and in leading positions of
cardiovascular, metabolism, central nervous system, pain, gastrotestinal, respiratory, and
therapeutic areas.50
As an action to combat child deaths that reach over five million every year, mainly in Africa and
Asia due to several health issues with pneumonia in lead with almost 25 percent, Sandoz joined
forces with the UN and announced commitment to the initiative on child mortality and every
Newborn Action Plan, as soon as it was launched in Johannesburg, South Africa on June 30,
2014.51
48 Stampler, Laura. "Microsoft's CEO Basically Told Women It's Bad Karma To Ask For A Raise". TIME.com. N.p., 2014. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. 49 "Lawsuit: Microsoft Job Rankings Discriminate Against Women". Re/code. N.p., 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. 50 "Sandoz Joins Forces With United Nations To Combat A Leading Cause Of Child Mortality Worldwide | Novartis". Novartis.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. 51 UNICEF, Committing to Child Survival, A Promise Renewed Progress Report, 2013.
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D. Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell PLC has been actively working in Niger Delta region of Nigeria on oil
production with the support of Nigerian government to repress opposition to its presence since
1958. The adverse protests of Ogoni people in Niger Delta between 1990 and 1995 were
handled by disproportional force and massive raids conducted by Nigerian army at Shell's
request, assistance and financing.52 The leaders of the movement, the Ogoni Nine,
internationally claimed environmental and human rights activist Ken Saro-‐Wiwa, prominent
youth leader John Kpuinen, Dr. Barinem Kiobel, Saturday Doobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbokoo,
Paul Levera, Felix Nuate and Baribor Bera were tried by a specially created military tribunal and
were executed by the Nigerian government due to alleged accusations of murder, solemnizing
the collusion between Shell and the Nigerian government. As a reaction to the execution of the
Ogoni Nine; the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), Earth Rights International (ERI) and
other human rights attorneys sued Shell for human rights violations.53
Over the past 50 years, the oil emission largely due to poor maintenance of infrastructure
destruction of Niger Delta ecosystem is estimated
around 1.5 million tons, most of which damaged
sensitive habitats causing loss of biodiversity,
depletion of water sources, air pollution leading
to illnesses and further impoverishment of local
communities. Environmental groups in Nigeria
and Europe sued Shell in the Netherlands
regarding the long-‐run oil spills, lack and
inadequacy of waste disposal in Nigeria.54
According to the US Geological Survey, Arctic
52 Shell’s Environmental Devastation In Nigeria. 1st ed. Center for Constitutional Rights. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. 53 Holder, Josh et al. "The New Cold War: Drilling For Oil And Gas In The Arctic". the Guardian. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. 54 Shell’s Environmental Devastation In Nigeria. 1st ed. Center for Constitutional Rights. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Alaska Region
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Circle holds the last remaining huge reserves of gas and oil, 30% of gas and 13% of oil of total
reserves respectively. Shell plans to drill for oil at this location, which could spray 150 billion
tones of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere hastening the global warming. The world's most
controversial oil drilling campaign will be launched in the city located on the northern part of
the US. Barrow is also a base for climate change study. Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, one of the
4,500 unwelcoming residents of Barrow and a former mayor promoting environmental justice,
stated: “I work with nonprofit organizations that want to protect the Arctic Ocean and the wild
areas. It’s about raising the importance of health, tradition and culture in the venues of those
(Shell and others) who want to change our lands and waters. It’s about the (any future oil) spill.
They cannot clear up in ice conditions, which we have for eight or nine months of the year. The
ecosystem renewal, which is needed for the many different animals that migrate here, is
important because we are feeding our families from the ocean. We must keep this environment
pristine.” Indigenous community of Arctic Alaska, Inupiat and their long-‐lasting life style could
be destroyed in the case of oil pollution. 55
E. British Petroleum
The Deepwater Horizon rig in the Macondo oil prospect in the Mississippi Canyon was owned
and operated by Transocean and leased by BP. The oil in the rig was 1,522 meters below the
seabed surface and extended 5,486 meters further into the rock. On April 20, 2010 infamous
explosion took place in the rig as a surge of natural gas blasted through a concrete core. The rig
sank on April 22 and started the oil-‐gusher that lasted 87 days. The oil leakage from the
damaged well peaked at over 60,000 barrels per day in contrast to original estimation of 1,000
barrels by BP. There were 11 casualties and 17 injured.. According to Wikileaks documents, a
similar incident had occurred in another rig owned by BP in the Caspian Sea in September
2008.
In Deepwater Horizon explosion, thousand of animals and their habitat were destroyed.
Critically increased cetacean stranding and deaths in February 2010 recorded by NOAA was
55 Holder, Josh et al. "The New Cold War: Drilling For Oil And Gas In The Arctic". the Guardian. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
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exacerbated by the spill. There was also an unusual spread of Brucella infection in stranded
dolphins. Researches had suspected that the oil spill made sea animals more vulnerable to the
other environmental dangers.
The Justice Department sued BP and other companies involved in December 2010. According to
commission's final report in January 2011 government was found guilty for lack of regulatory
oversight, whereas BP and its partners were found guilty for negligence and time-‐saving
measures.56
F. UNILEVER
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods,
operating in over 100 countries and sold in 190. Unilever products are bought by 170 billion
around the world every year and used over two billion times a day. Their portfolio includes
Knorr, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Dove, Vaseline, Persil, Cif, Radox, Sure and Lifebuoy. For 14 years,
Unilever led the Food Producers sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes and
regained the leadership of the Food and Beverage super sector. 57
The vision of this company is to double the size of the business, whilst reducing overall
environmental impact. Their sustainable living plan goals for 2020 are: halve the environmental
footprint of the making and usage of products, enhance the livelihoods of millions of people,
help more than 1 billion people take action to improve their health and well-‐being. To create
transformational change in yielding sustainable businesses, Unilever invests trust in global
partnership with other stakeholders that align with their vision such as UN agencies, non-‐
governmental organizations, social impact investors, foundations, and government
organizations.
The aim of Sustainable Living Plan is for partners’ benefit with the advantages of the
breadth and scale of Unilever and improves small stakeholders, intermediaries, consumers and
56 "Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Of 2010 | Oil Spill, Gulf Of Mexico". Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. 57 "Unilever - Corporate Social Responsibility News, Reports And Events – Csrwire.Com". Csrwire.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
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eventually the society. These improvements include impacts on inclusive business, health and
well-‐being, sustainable agriculture, nutrition and food security, women’s empowerment,
disaster and emergency relief and combating deforestation. They state: "Since 2012, we have
positively impacted the lives of more than 30 million people worldwide."58
VIII. An Anticipatory Role of Corporations with United Nations in the Context of SDGs
The United Nations and the private sector are actively cooperating around the world to address
the crucial issues, which are related such as but not limited to development, peace and
security, human rights and environment.
Today, business is an inevitable partner in achieving the United Nations’ goals, marking a new
chapter in United Nations-‐Private Sector relations, which had been unfortunately restricted
until the 1990s. Driving this cooperation is the recognition that although the end-‐goals of the
United Nations and business are quite distinct, there are many critical common objectives such
as building markets, combating corruption between the same countries’ citizens, saving the
environment from deforestation and lack of clean water, increasing food security, and ensuring
social inclusion of indigenous people. Businesses producing in today’s interdependent world are
affected more than ever by social, political and economic challenges, whether arising at home
or in other regions. Almost all of the United Nations entities are working with businesses to
address a wide band of issues, such as climate change, decent work, health systems, education
reform and humanitarian disasters.
There are a variety of steps taken, including international coalitions and community-‐based
initiatives, projects and frameworks for taking action, individual company commitments and
multi-‐stakeholder collective initiatives. Despite several issues being addressed and strategies
being implemented, there are three broad categories, which describe the methods for private
sector contribution towards the United Nations goals:
1. Core business operations and value chains
58 "Working In Partnerships". core.sitename. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
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2. Social investments and philanthropic contributions
3. Advocacy, policy dialogue and institutional frameworks59
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which are set to improve the life of billions of
people around the world by 2015, are a beacon for United Nations-‐business engagement. An
active private sector that delivers economic growth and wealth creation is essential for the
achievement of the MDGs. Every company can contribute to these development priorities,
through core business, philanthropic or advocacy efforts. The “Framework for Business
Engagement with the United Nations” provides much more great details on methods of
engagement and suggestions for how business can contribute to United Nations goals,
particularly the MDGs. The private sector is making important contributions toward shared
economic, social and environmental progress. The United Nations calls for increased and
deeper collaboration: working together is the only way to solve 21st century challenges.
A. Role of the United Nations
1. Global Compact
“Businesses today are expected to be part of the solution to our world’s greatest challenges –
from climate and water crises, to inequality and poverty – as captured in the Sustainable
Development Goals. For companies ready to take on the agenda, the SDGs provide a platform to
show responsibility, pursue opportunity and innovation, and inspire other businesses to get on
board.”
Lise Kingo, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on 31 January 1999, the Secretary-‐General
challenged world business leaders to improve the cooperation between the UN and
corporations with a set of nine universal principles within their sphere of influence in the areas
of human rights, labor standards and the environment, at a later stage a tenth principle (anti-‐
corruption) was added. Especially when the principles are put under the microscope, the
59 UN Business Framework. 1st ed. New York: United Nations, 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
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common point of the principles is “respecting the rights of laborers”. For this reason, the
corporations should pay attention to principles to actively collaborate with the United Nations
to develop the partnership and achieve the goals.
• Principle 1. Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally
proclaimed human rights;
• Principle 2. Businesses should make sure that they are not complicit in human rights
abuses;
• Principle 3. Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective
recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
• Principle 4. Businesses should support the elimination of all forms of forced and
compulsory labor;
• Principle 5. Businesses should support the effective abolition of child labor;
• Principle 6. Businesses should support the elimination of discrimination in respect of
employment and occupation.
• Principle 7. Businesses are asked to support a precautionary approach to environmental
challenges;
• Principle 8. Businesses should undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental
responsibility;
• Principle 9. Businesses should encourage the development and diffusion of
environmentally friendly technologies.
INFO BOX
The main topics of the principles are respectively:
Human Rights: Principles 1&2
Labor: Principles 3,4,5&6
Environment: Principles 7,8&9
Anti-Corruption: Principle 10
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• Principle 10. Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including
extortion and bribery.60
Since its establishment in 2004, Global Compact, which was introduced by Secretary-‐ General of
the United Nations Kofi Annan in 1999, is a place that private sector could commence a
voluntary initiative and become a part of solution process to the challenges, under the scope of
Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals. Within the presence of
private sector and abovementioned counterparties, the United Nations could have enhanced
the vision of the comprehensive global economy and practically tackle the ongoing problems.
The Global Compact submits a proposal for engagement through such alternated mechanisms:
Policy Dialogues, Learning, Country/ Regional Networks, and Projects.61
60 United Nations,. UN Business Framework. 2008. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. 61 Ergani, Hüseyin. 'T.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı'ndan'. T.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı. N.p., 2015. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.
Figure 2: The Success of the Global Compact
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2. United Nations Office for Partnerships
The United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP) was created in 2006 to strengthen
system-‐wide cohesion in establishing joint operations with global 7 partners of the United
Nations 62 and to increase support for the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) with
General Assembly resolution A/RES/60/1.
UNOP also administrates the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP), which
was established by former Secretary-‐General Kofi Annan in 1998 as an interface between the
United Nations and the UN Foundation. UNOP works with the Department of Management; its
Executive Director prepares reports to the Secretary-‐General, while the Deputy Secretary-‐
General plans the day-‐to-‐day operations of the Office. It helps several private sector members
and civil society partners by advising on partnership opportunities, which they gain while
working with the United Nations. It provides advisory services to United Nations agencies and
programmes in the areas of partnership building, advocacy and resource mobilization
strategies, and it serves as an entry for Global Compact signatories to engage the United
Nations system in identifying and developing partnership opportunities with non-‐State actors.63
At the first glance, it may appear as if the GCO objective of encouraging and facilitating dialogue
and partnerships among key stakeholders in support of broader United Nations goals doubles,
to some extent, UNOP’s role. However, closer beholding reveals that the two offices promote
distinct types of partnerships: the GCO focuses on “standard setting” and MDG advocacy (e.g.,
Caring for Climate, CEO Water Mandate), while UNOP fully concentrates on the more
62 Secretary-General’S Bulletin- Organization Of The United Nations Office For Partnerships. 1st ed. New York: United Nations, 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. 63 Fall, Papa Louis. CORPORATE SPONSORING IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM Principles And Guidelines. 1st ed. Geneva: United Nations, 2009. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
INFO BOX
UNDEF was established by the Secretary-‐General in July 2005 to support democratization processes through a competitive facility to civil society organizations engaged in promoting democratic values.
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operational part of assisting in commencing partnerships and funding concrete MDG-‐related
projects, a role which is subsidiary to the setting role of the GCO. 64
In addition, it advances accountability tools for partnerships whereas offering training
opportunities through the United Nations staff college and other relevant entities, organizes
panels for information sharing and manages a system-‐wide website for partnerships and
learning meetings. This mechanism was previously run by UNFIP.65
B. Role of the Corporations
Under the scope of Millennium Development Goals, the corporations had a requisite role for
the world’s future within the attendance and cooperation with the UN. Whilst some attendance
of corporations maintains their positions against the MDGs and SDGs in confidence, some
corporations are accused by contravening the motives and goals of the UN along with their
activities or just mottos. The expansion of new goals is supported by the corporations,
especially in Africa and the developing parts of South East Asia.66 It is obvious that the support
of corporations and their investment both ways is due to the fact that the citizens of the
developing countries could be employed in the corporations or the facilities could vivify the
region with the opportunities come with themselves; meanwhile the corporations could gain
eager and qualified employees or make profit from their products.67
64 Ibid. 65 Ibid. 66 Ibid. 67 Wakeford, Jeremy. "A New Scramble for Africa? The Rush for Energy Resources in Sub-Saharan Africa". South African Journal of International Affairs 23.1 (2016): 129-131. Web. 15.04.2016
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IX. The Effects of Amnesty International upon the Collaborations between United Nations
and Corporations
States are responsible of protecting the human rights of all their citizens, however, there occurs
disruption when the states have to oppose companies for providing the protection. Although
never admitted officially, the reality regarding the issue is whether because of lack of capacity,
dependence on the company as an investor or outright corruption.68
Companies often carry out severe abuses human rights such as forced labor, illegal
employment, payment way below the minimum wage, prolonged working hours and even
forced relocation of communities for the sake of benefiting from their lands, especially
68 "Corporations". Amnesty.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
INFO BOX About the importance of corporations in Sustainable Development Goals: 46. We acknowledge that the implementation of sustainable development will depend on the active engagement of both the public and the private sectors. We recognize that the active participation of the private sector can contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including through the important tool of public-‐private partnerships. We support national regulatory and policy frameworks that enable business and industry to advance sustainable development initiatives, taking into account the importance of corporate social responsibility. We call on the private sector to engage in responsible business practices, such as those promoted by the United Nations Global Compact. 47. We acknowledge the importance of corporate sustainability reporting and encourage companies, where appropriate, especially publicly listed and large companies, to consider integrating sustainability information into their reporting cycle. We encourage industry, interested governments and relevant stakeholders with the support of the United Nations system, as appropriate, to develop models for best practice and facilitate action for the integration of sustainability reporting, taking into account experiences from already existing frameworks and paying particular attention to the needs of developing countries, including for capacity building.
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international companies operating across borders. The severity and prevalence of the abuses
are highest in the extractive sector as the oligopolistic competition is excessive. The companies
in the sector prioritize profit first, hence, they destroy fundamentals for locals, contaminate
land, pollute water supply and other natural resources as happened in Ogoniland, Nigeria. The
impact of the destructive actions and measures is particularly extreme for indigenous people as
their life style and identity is directly united with their land.69
The information regarding the operations of companies and the significance of their actions is
not disclosed. As a result, communities do not only not take part in the decision making process
on their own land but they are also unaware of the future imposed on them. Today, the
responsibility of corporations to protect human rights is widely accepted, however, abuses to
human rights of labor and society members still take place for the sake of profit. Even though
many states govern laws allowing the prosecution of companies, the government rarely
investigates corporate wrongdoing. Communities seeking justice often encounter ineffective
legal systems, a lack of access to information, corruption and powerful state-‐corporate
alliances. The ineffectiveness of states to endorse law and protect human rights further
encourages the exploitation.70
What Amnesty International calls for is:
Prevention: all companies should be required by law to take steps to identify, prevent and
address human rights abuses (known as due diligence).
Accountability: companies must be held to account for abuses they commit.
Remedy: people whose rights have been abused by companies must be able to access justice
and effective remedy.
69 “Disclosure Of The Impact Of Corporations On Society.” New York: United Nations, 2004. Print. 70 Ibid.
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Protect rights beyond borders: companies operate across borders, so the law must also operate
across borders to protect people’s rights.71
Especially multinational companies that operate across national borders, have gained
unprecedented power and influence across the world. Companies have a huge impact on
people’s lives and the communities in which they operate. Sometimes the impact is positive,
jobs are created, new technology improves lives and investment in the community decodes into
real benefits for those who live there.72
However, Amnesty has exposed countless instances of corporations’ exploitation of weak and
poorly enforced domestic regulation with devastating effect on people and communities. There
are few effective organizations at national or international level to prevent corporations from
human rights abuses or to hold companies accountable. Amnesty is working to change this and
carries an important role for it.73
X. Points That a Report Should Cover
1. What are the missing points of Sustainable Development Goals?
2. Which points of Sustainable Development Goals are in need for change after 15 years?
3. What are the upsides of the activities of Amnesty International? How could they be
improved?
4. The inefficiency of Amnesty International upon some problems is inevitable. For this
reason, should Amnesty International change its construction of taking actions? How?
5. How could the Sustainable Development Goals get ahead with the support of Amnesty
International? What could be done for improvement?
6. The aggressiveness of companies in the context of women rights and mining are
increasing, as mentioned above. What could Amnesty International do to reduce?
71 "Corporations". Amnesty.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016. 72 "Corporations — Global Issues". Globalissues.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Apr. 2016. 73 Ibid.
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XI. Conclusion
Since its establishment, Amnesty International holds a vital role through NGOs and the
humanitarian parts of problems wait commonly the response of Amnesty. The Millennium
Development Goals were real success. However, in order to keep the world safe, it might not be
the only solution. Countries, corporations, NGOs and most importantly, the United Nations
should carry some responsibilities, despite some missing or unclear points, and aggressive
actions of corporations. Hence, Amnesty International should be ready for every possible
problem and should not hesitate to take action.
IMPORTANT NOTE
Secretary-‐General’s Report of Amnesty International will provide challenges to
Sustainable Development Goals, the Action Plan of Amnesty International and some
examples of Amnesty International’s work.
![[FOCUS] Amnesty International Presentation](https://img.dokumen.tips/doc/110x75/55288ae1550346b1588b4827/focus-amnesty-international-presentation.jpg)
