*{Global Politics for a Global Economy [http://www.weforum.org/site/knowledgenavigator.nsf/Content/Global%20Politics%20for%20a%20Global%20Economy?open&topic_id=300250000&theme_id=300] 31.01.1999 Annual Meeting 1999} *partie=titre Giving the global market a human face *partie=nil United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on the world's leading business people to initiate a global compact of shared values and principles, "which will give a human face to the global market". Annan said he realizes globalization is a fact of life but "I believe we have underestimated its fragility." The spread of markets, he said, far outpaces the ability of societies and their political systems to adjust. He suggested today's global economy should lay a foundation for global prosperity similar to that which was established by industrialized countries after World War II. He told business leaders to "embrace, support and enact a set of core values in the areas of human rights, labour standards and environmental practices." These areas, he said, are already defined by international agreements, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but if no action is taken to reinforce them, there may be a threat to the open global economy and especially to the multilateral trade regime. "There is enormous pressure from various interest groups to load the trade regime and investment agreements with restrictions," he said. "We should find a way to achieve our proclaimed standards by other means." The Secretary-General suggested two ways to implement the compact: working through international agencies such as the UN, and taking action in individual corporate spheres. He told business people and investors that their power brings with it great opportunities and great responsibilities. He asked them each to ensure that human rights and decent labour and environmental standards be upheld in their own businesses. In return, Annan said the UN agencies stand ready to assist them. He gave his newly-created website address, www.un.org&partners, which he described as a "one-stop shopping" site for corporations interested in the UN. In closing, the Secretary-General said: "I believe what I am proposing to you is a genuine compact, because neither side of it can succeed without the other." National markets are held together by shared values and confidence in certain minimum standards, he added. "But in the new global market, people do not yet have that confidence. Until they do have it, the global economy will be fragile and vulnerable" to the backlash of protectionism, nationalism, ethnic chauvinism, fanaticism and terrorism. *{Contributors: Annan Kofi Lindahl Göran}