Towards Global Partnerships : A Principle-Based Approach to Enhanced Cooperation Between the United Nations and All Relevant Partners

A/RES/68/234View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 26Towards global partnerships, published in 2013.

What other versions does this mandate have?

5 versions · 2014–2024

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/79/228

2024A/RES/79/228Towards global partnerships : a principle-based approach to enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and all relevant partnersLatestCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/76/224Towards global partnerships : a principle-based approach to enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and all relevant partnersCompare with previous version
2019A/RES/73/254Towards global partnerships : a principle-based approach to enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and all relevant partnersCompare with previous version
2016A/RES/70/224Towards global partnerships : a principle-based approach to enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and all relevant partnersCompare with previous version
2014A/RES/68/234Towards global partnerships : a principle-based approach to enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and all relevant partners

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 topics

Cooperation Between Organizations Corporate Social Responsibility Development Strategies Partnership Private Sector

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2015.

2015A/70/296Enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and all relevant partners, in particular the private sector report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

31 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and all relevant partners, in particular the private sector;

Stresses that partnerships are voluntary and collaborative relationships between various parties, both public and non-public, in which all participants agree to work together to achieve a common purpose or undertake a specific task and, as mutually agreed, to share risks and responsibilities, resources and benefits;

Also stresses the importance of the contribution of voluntary partnerships to the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, while reiterating that they are a complement to, but not intended to substitute for, the commitment made by Governments with a view to achieving those goals;

Further stresses that partnerships should be consistent with national laws and national development strategies and plans, as well as the priorities of countries where they are implemented, bearing in mind the relevant guidance provided by Governments;

Emphasizes the vital role played by Governments in promoting responsible business practices, including providing and ensuring enforcement of the necessary legal and regulatory frameworks in accordance with national legislation and development priorities, and invites them to continue to provide support to United Nations efforts to engage with the private sector, as appropriate;

Recognizes the vital role that the private sector plays in development, including through engaging in various partnership models and by generating decent employment and investment, giving access to and developing new technologies, offering technical vocational training activities and stimulating sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth, with due consideration for non-discrimination, gender equality and women’s empowerment, while bearing in mind the need to ensure that their activities conform fully with the principle of national ownership of development strategies;

Also recognizes the importance of giving due consideration to the various contributions of all relevant stakeholders, including the private sector, to the intergovernmental process of elaborating the post-2015 development agenda, and in this regard takes note of the important role that the Global Compact Local Networks have played in gathering input from businesses on a post-2015 development framework and promoting poverty eradication and sustainable development through, inter alia, the exercise of corporate social responsibility;

Welcomes the intention of the Secretary-General to improve collaboration of the United Nations with all relevant partners, including the private sector, and to strengthen the capacities of the United Nations system, with a view to enhancing the results achieved through partnerships, and acknowledges the importance of continued consultations with Member States;

Also welcomes the commitment of the Secretary-General to continuing to retain the integrity and unique role of the United Nations Global Compact;

Notes with appreciation the initiatives of the Secretary-General, including the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, the Every Woman, Every Child initiative, the Global Education First Initiative, the Zero Hunger Challenge initiative and the Global Pulse initiative;

Invites the United Nations system, when considering partnerships, to seek to engage in a more coherent manner with private sector entities, including small and medium-sized enterprises, that support the core values of the United Nations, as reflected in the Charter and other relevant conventions and treaties, and that commit to the principles of the United Nations Global Compact by translating them into operational corporate policies, codes of conduct and management, monitoring and reporting systems;

Encourages the United Nations system to continue to develop, for those partnerships in which it participates, a common and systemic approach which places greater emphasis on transparency, coherence, impact, accountability and due diligence, without imposing undue rigidity in partnership agreements;

Requests the Secretary-General, in this regard, in collaboration with funds and programmes, specialized agencies and other relevant United Nations entities and mechanisms, as appropriate:

To improve the Guidelines on Cooperation between the United Nations and the Business Sector, including from a gender perspective;

To disclose the partners, contributions and matching funds for all relevant partnerships, including at the country level;

To strengthen due diligence measures that can safeguard the reputation of the Organization and ensure confidence-building;

To ensure that these elements are coherently reflected in relevant system-wide reports;

Underlines, in this context, the importance of integrity measures as taken and advocated by the United Nations Global Compact;

Requests the United Nations Global Compact to promote the Women’s Empowerment Principles and to encourage the Global Compact Local Networks to create awareness of the many ways in which business can promote gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community;

Acknowledges the importance of corporate sustainability reporting, encourages companies, where appropriate, especially publicly listed and large companies, to consider integrating sustainability information into their reporting cycle, encourages industry, interested Governments and relevant stakeholders, with the support of the United Nations system, as appropriate, to develop models for best practice and to 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, and welcomes in this context the collaboration of the United Nations Global Compact with the Global Reporting Initiative and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to promote effective implementation of the Guidelines on Cooperation between the United Nations and the Business Sector;

Encourages the international community to strengthen global partnerships for the integration and implementation in partnerships of the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organization and the call for action on youth employment, in accordance with national plans and priorities;

Stresses the importance of developing national strategies for the promotion of sustainable and productive entrepreneurial activities through partnerships, and encourages Governments to create a climate that is conducive to increasing the number of women entrepreneurs and the size of their businesses;

Encourages the private sector and the Global Compact Local Networks to join the United Nations Global Compact “Business for Peace” platform and to seek to maximize the beneficial contributions to peace and development while minimizing the risks of negative impacts on both business and society in conflict-affected countries;

Notes with appreciation the convening of the annual United Nations Private Sector Forum, which, in 2013, focused on unique opportunities and challenges in Africa;

Also notes with appreciation the introduction of the private sector track at the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, held in Istanbul, Turkey, from 9 to 13 May 2011;

Further notes with appreciation the Corporate Sustainability Forum, which was held during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012;

Recognizes the work of the Global Compact Local Networks, as well as the importance of cooperation between the United Nations system at the local level and the Global Compact Local Networks, to support, as appropriate and in a manner complementary to existing networks, the coordination and application of global partnerships locally;

Also recognizes that the Global Compact Local Networks provide an avenue for diffusing United Nations values and principles and facilitating partnerships with business on a broad scale;

Acknowledges the establishment of the United Nations private sector focal points network, promoting greater coherence and capacity-building within the Organization on activities involving business and disseminating innovations in engagement across the system, as well as the holding of annual meetings of United Nations system private sector focal points, which remain important forums for the exchange of best practices, lessons learned and innovations in partnerships with the private sector;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its seventieth session a concise report, in the most cost-efficient and effective manner, on the implementation of the present resolution and on specific progress, including from a gender perspective, on integrity measures, on transparency, on the strengthening of due diligence measures, on the improvement and implementation of the Guidelines on Cooperation between the United Nations and the Business Sector, on disclosure of partners, contributions and matching funds, including at the country level, and on the strengthening of the Global Compact Local Networks.

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