On June 19, 2012, on the eve of a key United Nations Summit due to take place June 20-22 in Rio De Janeiro [1], Friends of the Earth International will launch a new report exposing the increasing influence of major corporations and business lobby groups within the UN. [2]<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernmental positions have been increasingly hijacked by narrow corporate interests linked to polluting industries and business sectors seeking to profit from the environment, the climate and the financial crises,\u201d said Nnimmo Bassey, chair of Friends of the Earth International.<\/p>\n
The report presents a number of cases that clearly expose how UN policies and agencies have been excessively influenced by the corporate sector.<\/p>\n
It also shows how this damages the ability of the UN to solve the various problems it is tasked with, removing its willingness to address the role of major corporations in causing many of the environmental, social, food and economic problems that the world faces today.<\/p>\n
According to the new report, the positions of national governments in multilateral negotiations are increasingly influenced by business; business representatives dominate certain UN discussion spaces and some UN bodies; business groups are given a privileged advisory role; UN officials move back and forth to the private sector; and \u2013 last but not least \u2013 UN agencies are increasingly financially dependent on the private sector.<\/p>\n
The new report also states that the UN has been working very closely with big business in developing and promoting the concept of \u2018Green Economy\u2019 which is selling out nature and people, and greenwashing a broken and unfair economic system at the expense of sustainable development.<\/p>\n
More than 372 civil society organizations representing millions of people from around the world signed a statement -initiated by Friends of the Earth International and nine other organisations- denouncing the corporate domination of the United Nations. [3]<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that the UN is increasingly catering to the demands of corporate interests diverts the UN from tackling the root causes of environmental, social and economic problems. The UN and this Rio+20 Summit should listen to the demands of the alternative Peoples\u2019 Summit in Rio and take measures that will hold corporations accountable for their negative impacts,\u201d said Lucia Ortiz, Economic Justice International Program Coordinator at Friends of the Earth International.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe many examples of corporate capture are detrimental to the good work being done by many UN agencies and officials worldwide for the protection and empowerment of people. Allowing this to happen is putting both the UN\u2019s and its member states\u2019 credibility and integrity at risk. In fact this threatens to undermine the mission of the entire UN system and must be stopped, \u201c said Paul de Clerck, Corporates Campaign Coordinator at Friends of the Earth International.<\/p>\n
WHAT THE CASE STUDIES SHOW :<\/strong><\/p>\n – The Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative is being decided by an unaccountable, handpicked group, dominated by representatives of multinational corporations and fossil fuel interests, virtually without any involvement from or consultation with global civil society. Friends of the Earth International believes SE4ALL will not deliver its stated objective of doubling the share of renewable energy.<\/p>\n – Support for agriculture and food policy appears to be compromised by corporate links at the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). It is promoting technologies that endanger peoples\u2019 rights and access to food.<\/p>\n – The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is increasingly driven by corporate actors interested in the financialization of nature and not by the need to conserve biodiversity.<\/p>\n – Private sector interests are increasingly seeking ways to treat water as a tradable commodity while depriving people of their universal right to water and endangering access to water and sanitation for millions of people worldwide.<\/p>\n – The UN Global Compact allows companies to boost their image by (mis-)using the UN flag for their own benefit, yet fails to deliver real improvements in business behaviour.<\/p>\n – The UN has been working very closely with big business in developing and promoting the concept of \u2018Green Economy\u2019 which is selling out nature and people, and greenwashing a broken and unfair economic system at the expense of sustainable development.<\/p>\n FOR MORE INFORMATION<\/strong><\/p>\n Paul de Clerck, Corporates Campaign Coordinator, Friends of the Earth International Lucia Ortiz, Economic Justice International Program Coordinator, Friends of the Earth International (in Brazil) Nnimmo Bassey, chair of Friends of the Earth International: NOTES:<\/strong><\/p>\n [1] The Summit website is\u00a0http:\/\/www.uncsd2012.org<\/a><\/p>\n [2] The new report is online<\/p>\n IN ENGLISH :\u00a0http:\/\/www.foei.org\/reclaim-the-UN-report\/view<\/a><\/p>\n IN SPANISH:\u00a0http:\/\/www.foei.org\/reclaim-the-UN-report-es\/view<\/a><\/p>\n IN PORTUGUESE:\u00a0http:\/\/www.foei.org\/reclaim-the-UN-report-pt\/view<\/a><\/p>\n [3] More information about the statement and the signatories is online at\u00a0http:\/\/www.foei.org\/end-un-corporate-capture<\/a><\/p>\n On June 5, 2012, Friends of the Earth International started a campaign urging the UN to limit the excessive influence of multinational corporations on its decision-making processes.<\/p>\n The campaign includes an online public petition asking UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to take the steps needed to reclaim the UN from corporate capture.<\/p>\n
\nTel\u00a0+ 32 494 38 09 59<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0+55 21 6968 7827<\/a>\u00a0(Brazilian cell valid from June 19-22 only) or emailpaul@milieudefensie.nl<\/a><\/p>\n
\nTel:\u00a0+ 55 51 98 41 87 07<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0+55 21 6968 7826<\/a>\u00a0or email\u00a0lucia@natbrasil.org.br<\/a><\/p>\n
\nTel:\u00a0+55 21 69 68 78 24<\/a>\u00a0(Brazilian cell from June 15-23 only) or\u00a0+234 803 727 4395<\/a>\u00a0(Nigerian cell), or email\u00a0Nnimmo@eraction.org<\/a><\/p>\n