-Caveat Lector- .............................................................. >From the New Paradigms Project [Not Necessarily Endorsed] Note: We store 100's of related "conspiracy posts" at: http://www.msen.com/~lloyd/oldprojects/recentmail.html From: "Ivan Stevens" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [prj] The UN and big business Date: Monday, September 04, 2000 1:13 AM Rare Book Searches - Ruling Class/Conspiracy Experts: http://a-albionic.com/search.html ***** Conspiracy Shopping Cart: http://a-albionic.com/shopping.html ***** Misc Shopping On-Line http://a-albionic.com/ads/srch.html ****** > >The Guardian (London) > >August 31, 2000 > >Getting into bed with big business; >The Un Is No Longer Just A Joke. >It Is Becoming The Villain Of The Piece > >Pity the UN, for it is not powerful enough even to be hated. >While other global bodies are widely reviled, the UN has >become little more than a joke. > >Ignored and undermined, its treaties unratified, its fees >unpaid, the sometime saviour of the world has sunk toward >irrelevance. The general assembly is permanently sidelined. >The security council is heeded only when its decisions don't >interfere with the plans of any of its members. Next week's >Millennium Summit, the biggest meeting of heads of state in >the history of the world, is likely to be just another scene > >in an ever more ludicrous pantomime. > >UN officials have long been aware of the problem. They have >spent much of the past 10 years desperately seeking to be >taken seriously by the world's great powers. They are in >danger, as a result, of exchanging the role of clown for the >role of villain. > >The UN's metamorphosis began at the Earth Summit in 1992. The >UN Centre on Transnational Corporations, which tried to help >weak nations to protect themselves from predatory companies, >had recommended that businesses should be internationally >regulated. The UN refused to circulate its suggestions. >Instead the summit adopted the proposals of a very different >organisation: the Business Council for Sustainable >Development, composed of the chief executives of big >corporations. Unsurprisingly, the council had recommended that >companies should regulate themselves. In 1993, the UNCTC was >dissolved. > >In June 1997, the president of the general assembly announced >that corporations would be given a formal role in UN decision- >making. Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, suggested that >he would like to see more opportunities for companies - rather >than governments or the UN - to set global standards. > >At the beginning of 1998, the UN Conference on Trade and >Development revealed that it was working with the >International Chamber of Commerce to help developing countries >formulate competition and consumer protection law" and to >facilitate trade. The UN, which until a few years before had >sought to defend poor countries from big business, would now >be helping big business to overcome the resistance of poor >countries. The ICC repaid the favour by asking the world's >richest nations to give the UN more money. > >In January 1999, Mr Annan launched a new agency, called the >Business Humanitarian Forum. It would be jointly chaired by >the UN High Commissioner on Refugees and the president of a >company called Unocal. Unocal was, at the time, the only major >US company still operating in Burma. It was helping the >Burmese government to build a massive gas pipeline, during the >construction of which Burmese soldiers tortured and killed >local people. The business community," Annan explained to >Unocal, Nestle, Rio Tinto and the other members of the new >forum, is fast becoming one of the UN's most important allies >. . . That is why the organisation's doors are open to you as >never before." > >Two months later, a leaked memo revealed that the UN >Development Programme had accepted Dollars 50,000 from each of >11 giant corporations. In return, Nike, Rio Tinto, Shell, BP, >Novartis, ABB, Dow Chemical and the other companies would gain >privileged access to UNDP offices, acquiring, in the agency's >words, a new and unique vehicle for market development >activities", as well as worldwide recognition for their >cooperation with the UN". The UNDP would develop a special UN >logo which the companies could put on their products. > >After fierce campaigning by human rights groups, this scheme >was suspended. But in July this year, Mr Annan launched a far >more ambitious partnership, a global compact" with 50 of the >world's biggest and most controversial corporations. The >companies promised to respect their workers and the >environment. This, Annan told them, would safeguard open >markets while at the same time creating a human face for the >global economy". The firms which signed his compact would be >better placed to deal with pressure from single-issue groups". >Again, they would be allowed to use the UN's logo. But there >would be no binding commitments, and no external assessment of >how well they were doing. > >The UN, in other words, appears to be turning itself into an >enforcement agency for the global economy, helping western >companies to penetrate new markets while avoiding the >regulations which would be the only effective means of holding >them to account. By making peace with power, the UN is >declaring war upon the powerless. > >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ >The content of this message is provided in my private capacity and does not >purport to represent my employer. > >_______________________________________________ >Taking-control maillist - [EMAIL PROTECTED] >http://www.converge.org.nz/mailman/listinfo/taking-control > > > <><><>A-albionic's Books Can Be Browsed and Purchased Conveniently in the Shopping Cart at http://a-albionic.com/shopping.html Misc On-Line Shopping http://a-albionic.com/ads/srch.html ***** Forwarded for info and discussion from the New Paradigms Discussion List, not necessarily endorsed by: *********************************** Lloyd Miller, Research Director for A-albionic Research a ruling class/conspiracy research resource for the entire political-ideological spectrum. **FREE RARE BOOK SEARCH: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ** Explore Our Archive: <http://a-albionic.com/a-albionic.html> <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. 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