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

A/RES/73/254View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 27Towards global partnerships, published in 2018.

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?

6 topics

Cooperation Between Organizations Corporate Social Responsibility Development Strategies Partnership Private Sector Sustainable Development

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2021.

2021A/76/319Enhanced 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;

Acknowledges that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development requires a strong commitment to partnership at all levels between Governments, the private sector, civil society and all other relevant stakeholders, and therefore recognizes the importance of the various contributions of all relevant stakeholders, including the private sector;

Takes note of the report of the Joint Inspection Unit entitled “The United Nations system: private sector partnerships arrangements in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and of the note by the Secretary-General in response to that report;

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 that partnerships will be critical to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, as an effective instrument for mobilizing additional human and financial resources, expertise, technology and knowledge, while reiterating that partnerships are a complement to, but are not intended as a substitute for, the commitment made by Governments with a view to achieving the 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 and other relevant stakeholders, as appropriate;

Recognizes the vital role that the private sector plays in sustainable development, including by engaging in various partnership models, by generating decent employment as well as investment, by giving access to and developing new technologies, by offering technical vocational training activities and by stimulating sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth;

Welcomes the efforts of the Secretary-General to steer the United Nations system towards giving greater attention to longer-term, strategic and innovation-based multi-stakeholder partnerships in order to leverage private sector competencies and technologies, with a view to generating greater potential for innovation and increased impact on sustainable development, which is needed for the timely achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals;

Emphasizes that the Secretary-General, in his capacity as Chair of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination, and the executive heads of interested organizations should build on existing and ongoing efforts and continue to empower the United Nations Innovation Network or other existing United Nations joint innovation initiatives, such as the United Nations Technology Innovation Labs, to identify and discuss issues that are relevant for the coordination of the existing innovation initiatives, funds, laboratories, accelerators and incubators, and their interface with the private sector, with a view to facilitating and stimulating innovation in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

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;

Stresses that greater effort is required to unlock new financial flows, including from mainstream institutional investors, for the timely implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as a complement to public finance and international development cooperation;

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;

Calls upon the United Nations funds, programmes and the specialized agencies, at the request of national Governments, to improve their support for the building, development and strengthening of national capacities, to support development results at the country level and to promote national ownership and leadership, in line with national development policies, plans and priorities, taking into account their respective mandates and bearing in mind their comparative advantages, in assisting Governments in leveraging partnerships;

Welcomes the ongoing efforts of the Secretary-General to further improve the collaboration of the United Nations with all relevant partners, including the private sector, and recognizes his efforts to strengthen the capacities of the United Nations system, including by mainstreaming understanding of the role of partnerships throughout the system, and to discuss the potential for further strengthening of cooperation and coordination across the United Nations system with regard to partnerships, with a view to enhancing the results achieved through them, while acknowledging 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, and underlines the importance of integrity measures as taken and advocated by the United Nations Global Compact;

Invites the United Nations system, when considering partnerships, to seek to engage in a more coherent manner with private sector entities, including micro-, 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;

Recalls the request to the Secretary-General, in this regard, as appropriate, in collaboration with the funds and programmes, the specialized agencies and other relevant United Nations entities and mechanisms, to disclose the partners, contributions and matching funds for all relevant partnerships, including at the country level, and 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;

Stresses the need for the United Nations system to continue its efforts to develop, for those partnerships in which it participates, a common and coherent approach across the United Nations system that places greater emphasis on transparency, impact, accountability, due diligence and risk management, while taking into account the specific mandates of United Nations agencies, programmes and other entities and without imposing undue rigidity in partnership agreements;

Acknowledges the importance of corporate sustainability reporting, encourages companies, especially publicly listed and large companies, to integrate sustainability and due diligence information into their reporting cycles, encourages industry, interested Governments and relevant stakeholders, with the support of the United Nations system, as appropriate, to enhance existing models and develop new 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 to foster youth employment and promote frameworks for action, including the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organization, the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth 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 to support and participate in multi-stakeholder partnerships to this end;

Notes with appreciation the convening of the annual United Nations Private Sector Forum as well as the Sustainable Development Goals business forum, organized by the United Nations and the International Chamber of Commerce to foster the implementation of the Goals;

Recognizes the work and the important role of the Global Compact Local Networks in supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development locally;

Also recognizes the importance of cooperation between the United Nations system at the local level, including the reinvigorated resident coordinator system, and all relevant stakeholders, as appropriate, in alignment with the United Nations Development Assistance Framework, to support the coordination and application of global partnerships;

Further 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;

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

Takes note of the work of the United Nations private sector focal points network, and encourages the network to promote 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-sixth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution, and decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-sixth session the item entitled “Towards global partnerships”, unless otherwise agreed.

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Who created this mandate?

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Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What does this mandate say?

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