WUNRN
Global Policy Forum
AS GLOBALIZATION HAS COMPOUNDED THE
POWER OF LARGE TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE
LEGITIMATE HUMAN RIGHTS AGENDA AND ETHICAL ADVOCACY, AND
ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN'S ISSUES, WOMEN'S NGO'S AND THEIR
SUPPORT AND INCLUSION, HIGH LEVEL TO
GRASSROOTS, GLOBAL, NATIONAL, LOCAL, AND AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Privatizing Global Governance: Corporate Influence at the United
Nations
July 2014 - As globalization has compounded the power of large transnational corporations (TNCs) in recent decade, big business has consolidated its influence on global governance and the United Nations in particular. In that multilateralsetting, corporate actors have been granted privileged access to decision-makers, and their interests have become more prominent as calls for legally binding instruments for TNCs become more sidelined. In the ongoing discussions towards a post-2015 sustainable development agenda, the private sector is positioning itself as the solution to current global challenges – while simultaneously attempting in other fora to evade UN oversight and regulation. The embrace of a voluntary “partnership” approach has resulted in a corresponding shift towards a multi-stakeholder governance paradigm – buoyed by big business and the governments invested in it1 – in the World Economic Forum, the World Trade Organization, and the agencies and agendas of the UN.Global Policy Forum has undertaken significant research to track and chart the increasing power and influence of corporations in global governance settings, particularly the UN. We are pleased to share with you our new web portal on Corporate Influence, which includes GPF analysis, relevant UN documents, and a wide range of further reading.
Privatization
of the UN agenda - Problems resulting from this approach
TNCs
and their interest groups actively promote UN partnerships with business and
growth-oriented, market-based “solutions” for sustainable development. This
corresponds to a prevailing emphasis on corporate sustainability and a
promotion of voluntary corporate social responsibility initiatives. Despite the
rhetoric of “transformative solutions,” public-private partnerships (PPPs) and
corporate sustainability initiatives ignore structural issues of inequality and
the need for redistributive policies. This approach invisibilizes the role of
corporations in creating, exacerbating, and benefitting from historic
challenges of sustainable development. “Private sector” access to the UN really
means privileged access for big business: large TNCs active in resource
extraction, technology, chemical, pharmaceutical, and the food and beverage
sectors. In addition to their primary profit motive, many of these TNCs (e.g.
Total, Vale, Unilever, Nestle, Heineken, Bayer, Novartis) have incentives
against, not for, sustainable development. The overemphasis on corporate
sustainability reduces governments to creators of an “enabling environment” for
business, through incentives and subsidies. At the same time, this discourse
insists that States are the sole duty bearers to guarantee human rights, in a
vacuum where TNCs have only a vague and voluntary responsibility. This approach
lets corporations and governments off the hook. Rather than allowing for
effective regulation of corporations by States, it relies on the willingness of
large corporations to report on their impact and voluntary commitments.
1 UN
partnerships with the corporate sector – through the Global Compact and other
fora – are supported by France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US,
Australia, China, Chile, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey. The recent UN member states that voted against
the Human Rights Council resolution that begins the process to establish an international legally binding instrument on business
and human rights are France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US,
Argentina, Czech Republic, Estonia, Ireland, Macedonia, Montenegro, Republic of
Korea, and Romania.
Privatization
of the UN agenda Problems resulting from this approach
The
“radical transformation” corporate voices propose is to redesign global
governance on multi-stakeholder terms, emphasizing voluntary and unaccountable
private sector commitments. The UN and its post-2015 process privilege business
(e.g. through the Global Compact) There is a lack of clarity regarding
“stakeholders” – which includes corporations and many “non-profit organizations”
that represent corporate interests. This kind of partnership coopts NGOs,
States, and UN agencies that partake in it, and risks the credibility and
legitimacy of the UN. Labeling all actors stakeholders, as if all were equal
and had the same interest, obscures the power imbalances between various
sectors and the vast differences between their agendas. It promotes a depoliticized
model of governance that negates the different interests and power structures
inherent in the global economic system.
What
should be done?
UN
» Challenge the multi-stakeholder discourse and partnership models of the UN, to counteract the dominance of corporate interests in the UN, in the field of human rights and beyond.
» Adopt and implement mandatory
guidelines for UN partnership with corporations, overseen by Member States.
» Implement mandatory conflict of
interest and public disclosure policies, system-wide.
» Undertake systematic impact
assessments and independent evaluations of the UN’s relationship with business
(carried out by neutral bodies, with publicly accessible results).
» Ensure greater transparency
regarding UN funding and contributions from corporate sector; subject
extrabudgetary resources to surveillance by UN member states; and scale up the
provision of funding by member states to ensure an effective and legitimate
regular budget.
Post-2015
» Build an intergovernmental
accountability framework in the post-2015 agenda, with government-adopted
guidelines and government monitoring. House a monitoring and oversight hub for
“partnerships” within a strong and effective High-Level Political Forum, tasked
with monitoring the implementation of the post-2015 agenda.
Business
and Human Rights
» Call for effective international
regulation of TNCs through ensuring the establishment of an open-ended
intergovernmental working group tasked with a draft mandate, in accordance with
the recent resolution in the UN Human Rights
Council (HRC).
» Strengthen the central role of
the HRC in the business and human rights discourse, in recognition of its
unique role to provide global leadership in human rights by strengthening
standards and creating effective implementation and accountability mechanisms.