UN Secretary General Appoints Abu-Ghazaleh as Deputy-Chairman of Global Compact

Abu-Ghazaleh will arrange for the establishment of national centers for the Global Compact in the Arab states

NEW YORK ? April 5, 2007 --- UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon appointed Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh as the Deputy-Chairman of the Global Compact during its second meeting held at the UN headquarters in New York on April 4, 2007.

The Global Compact Board of Directors includes 20 international figures that represent some of the largest global businesses, the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Labor Union, in addition to other civil institutions.

The membership of the Compact consists of over 4000 companies worldwide. It aims to establish the practice of responsible actions in the fields of human rights, labor, the environment and fighting corruption.

The meeting addressed topics such as combating corruption, governance, climate change, transparency, prevention of conflict, and optimal performance in education in accordance with its ten principles.

The Board completed the arrangements for the convening of the Global Compact World Summit, to be held in Geneva July 5-6, 2007 with the expected participation of more than one thousand of the highest officials in the business community, governments and civil society. The Summit will be under the title "Facing the Facts: The Actual Work." The Summit is expected to issue an international declaration on the role of the labor sector in the community.

The board entrusted Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh with the responsibility of arranging for the establishment of national centers for the Global Compact in the Arab states, and a regional Arab center under the auspices of the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, and inviting major Arab corporations to participate in this important conference.

In addition, Abu-Ghazaleh Consulting was mandated with representing the Global Compact with the ISO, in the issuance of the draft ISO standard ISO 26000 for corporate social responsibility.

The Global Compact initiative was launched in 2000 with the aim of having businesses work in conjunction with the United Nations agencies, trade unions, civil society and governments to work to promote universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor and environmental standards, and the fight against corruption.

With the participation of more than 3800 companies from over 100 countries, the Global Compact is considered the biggest initiative that companies voluntarily take part in. It has more than 50 networks at the national and regional levels. For further information: www.unglobalcompact.org