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

A/RES/70/224No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 27Towards global partnerships, published in 2016.

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?

8 topics

Cooperation Between Organizations Corporate Social Responsibility Development Strategies Partnership Private Sector Sustainable Development Women Workers Youth Employment

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

2 reports of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2017–2018.

2018A/73/326Enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and all relevant partners, in particular the private sector report of the Secretary-General
2017A/72/310Enhanced 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?

35 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 Sustainable 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;

Welcomes the growing number of businesses that embrace a core business model that takes account of the environmental, social and governance impacts of their activities, encourages and urges all businesses to adopt principles for responsible business and investing, and supports the work of the United Nations Global Compact in this regard;

Recognizes the importance of the various contributions of all relevant stakeholders, including the private sector, to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and in this regard takes note of the important role that the Global Compact Local Networks will play in supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda 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, while stressing the principles of transparency, coherence, impact, accountability and due diligence;

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 of the United Nations 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;

Stresses the need for the United Nations system 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, the specialized agencies and other relevant United Nations entities and mechanisms:

To implement the Guidelines on a Principle-based Approach to the 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 and risk management measures that can safeguard the reputation of the Organization and ensure confidence-building;

To ensure that these elements are coherently reflected in the reporting of partnership activities by the United Nations funds, programmes and, as appropriate, agencies to their respective governing bodies;

To ensure that these elements are reflected in system-wide reports and in the reports on initiatives of the Secretary-General to be submitted for the consideration of Member States;

Recognizes the contribution of partnerships to the realization of the goals and programmes of the Organization, and in this regard requests the Economic and Social Council to hold, during its partnership forum in 2016, a discussion on the best practices and ways to improve, inter alia, transparency, accountability and the sharing of experiences of multi-stakeholder partnerships and on the review and monitoring of these partnerships, including the role of Member States in the review and monitoring process;

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

Encourages the United Nations funds and programmes to continue to actively engage with other stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector and foundations, with a view to diversifying potential sources of funding, especially core funding, for their operational activities for development, in alignment with the core principles of the United Nations development system and with full respect for the national priorities of programme countries;

Recognizes that these partnerships should give priority to core resources, while noting the need to make non-core resources from partners flexible and aligned with strategic plans and national priorities;

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, and encourages the private sector to contribute to advancing gender equality;

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 a Principle-based Approach to the 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;

Invites the academic, research and scientific communities to contribute to the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and in this regard recognizes the important role of the United Nations Academic Impact, among other initiatives, and encourages it to play an important and growing role in fostering global citizenship, filling knowledge gaps and facilitating better understanding of the core principles and activities of the United Nations;

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;

Notes with appreciation the convening of the annual United Nations Private Sector Forum, which, in 2015, focused on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals;

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;

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 seventy-second session a report on the implementation of the present resolution, and decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-second session the item entitled “Towards global partnerships”, unless otherwise agreed in the discussions on the revitalization of the Second Committee.

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Who created this mandate?

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What does this mandate say?

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