Editing Kofi Annan (section)

==== United Nations Global Compact ====
In an address to the [[World Economic Forum]] on 31 January 1999, Annan argued that the "goals of the United Nations and those of business can, indeed, be mutually supportive" and proposed that the private sector and the United Nations initiate "a global compact of shared values and principles, which will give a human face to the global market".<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/1999/19990201.sgsm6881.html|title=Secretary-general Proposes Global Compact on Human Rights, Labour, Environment, in Address to World Economic Forum in Davos|publisher=United Nations |date=1999-02-01 |access-date=14 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151205135136/http://www.un.org/press/en/1999/19990201.sgsm6881.html|archive-date=5 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 26 July 2000, the [[United Nations Global Compact]] was officially launched at UN headquarters in New York. It is a principle-based framework for businesses which aims to "[c]atalyse actions in support of broader UN goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)".<ref name="unglobalcompact">{{cite web|url=http://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/index.html|title=About the UN Global Compact|access-date=14 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611101210/https://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/index.html|archive-date=11 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The Compact established ten core principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and [[anti-corruption]]. Under the Compact, companies commit to the ten principles and are brought together with UN agencies, labour groups and civil society to implement them effectively.