UNITED NATIONS
Working with the UN
Since 1946, ICC has held top-level consultative status with the United Nations (UN) and a close working relationship with its specialized agencies.
Business, as represented by ICC, has been deeply and constructively engaged over the years in UN meetings and conferences, identifying the crucial components of a global partnership for development and its interlinked priorities.
Contributing to the work of the UN
Global Compact
ICC is the collective voice of global business in the Global Compact. Although not a part of the UN formal intergovernmental structure, its personal sponsorship by the Secretary-General places the initiative clearly in the UN context.
Following the adoption of the Global Compact Governance Framework in 2005, ICC’s Secretaries General were appointed to the Global Compact Board and regularly participated in board meetings in their personal capacity.
In 2007, ICC published a policy statement on “the role of the United Nations in promoting corporate responsibility”, in which ICC presented global business views on the role of the Global Compact and suggestions to improve its effectiveness. ICC has also strengthened its working relationship with the Global Compact Office in two vital areas under the Global Compact’s remit: anti-corruption and environment.
Business and Human Rights
Since 2006 ICC has provided on-going support to the mandate of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. This support has materialized in numerous contributions to convey global business views on the SRSG’s efforts to map out and define standards of corporate responsibility with regards to human rights.
UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)
Various ICC commissions actively engage in the work of UNCITRAL and welcome UNCITRAL endorsement of ICC rules, which significantly promotes their worldwide acceptance.
Participating in UN meetings
Climate Change and Sustainable Development
ICC, through its Commission on Environment and Energy, has been engaged in serving as the main focal point for business in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Business and Industry NGO, attending all its sessions, as well as the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development sessions (CSD).
ICC, as leader of the business delegation with the Business Action for Energy (BAE) initiative, was part of a temporary project which provided a platform for business input for the two-year cycle of CSD 14 and 15 (2006-2007). CSD 13 decisions on Water and Sanitation, to which ICC contributed through the Business Action for Water (BAW) initiative, were revisited and reviewed during the reporting period.
ICC also acted as business and industry representative in the Marrakech Process Advisory Committee providing guidance to the UN Environment Programme and DESA in developing and implementing the Marrakech Process on Sustainable Consumption and Production.
Information and Communication Technologies
ICC’s Commission on E-Business, IT and Telecoms (EBITT) was requested by the United Nations and the host countries of the UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS Geneva 2003, Tunis 2005) to coordinate business input to the preparations and at the Summit itself.
ICC in 2006 created Business Action to Support the Information Society (BASIS) to raise awareness among the public, governments, civil society, intergovernmental organizations and the technical community of what business requires to continue contributing to the development of the Information Society.
ICC and its BASIS initiative members have actively engaged in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) events, open consultations and preparations for the IGF in Athens, 2006, Rio de Janeiro 2007, Hyderabad, India 2008, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt 2009, Vilnius, 2010 and Nairobi, 2011.
ICC BASIS contributes yearly to the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), which was tasked by the WSIS in Tunis to assist in elements of the follow-up of this UN summit. ICC BASIS submits written contributions and actively contributes to the CSTD sessions as an observer.