Public-Private Partnerships for Sustainable Development

by Bojana Koljancic, PPAF Intern

On Friday, July 2 the United Nations General Assembly formally adopted a resolution that includes establishment of “UN Women,” the new gender equality agency at the UN. The formal name is the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. (A/64/L.56).  This momentous action is the result of years of negotiations between UN Member States and advocacy by the global women’s movement. 

PPAF works to promote the advancement of women in its activities in its focus countries and welcomes this new important agency. 

UN Women will function as a secretariat and also will carry out operational activities at the country level; it brings together four parts of the UN system:

• the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), established in 1946;
• the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), established in 1976, and with its headquarters in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic;
• the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI), established in 1997; and
• the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), established in 1976).

The new body will be headed by an Under-Secretary General who will be a member of all senior UN decision-making bodies and will report to the Secretary-General.  [Keep reading for more information on UN Women and on Ambassador Cuello's statement concerning a role for UN Women in the Dominican Republic.] Read more…

by Robert M. Worth, PPAF Intern

The UN offers businesses many ways to support its mission while creating valuable partnerships and pursuing new business opportunities.  One is to compete in the procurement process and become UN vendors.  Another is to assist in disaster response.  The UN also encourages business to join  the UN Global Compact, which affirms their adherence to several basic international mandates.  For more information about business partnering with the UN, and examples of how companies work with the UN, see:  http://business.un.org

The Public-Private Alliance Foundation promotes a business approach to development for poverty reduction and partnerships, and in support of all of the UN Millennium Development Goals.  PPAF is a participant in the UN Global Compact.

Procurement

One way to become a vendor and gain access to the UN’s $6 billion international market is to take advantage of the “one-step, fully on-line” registration process of the UN Global Marketplace.  This registers businesses with 21 agencies, funds and programs and the UN Secretariat, which represent over 95% of the UN procurement program’s expenditures.

Large contracts make the headlines, but the UN also relies on small businesses to support its operations. To encourage small business participation, the UN offers a tiered contract system   based on contract size – ranging from under $200,000 to over $5 million – with reduced compliance requirements for smaller contracts.

The UN Global Marketplace guide “Doing Business with the UN System” outlines the process. 

Disaster Response

A business can partner with the UN in disaster response as a paid service provider or by making donations.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) produces “How Can My Company Help?”   This page explains the role of businesses in disaster response, as well as methods of giving.

Cash is always the preferred type of donation, as it allows the UN to direct resources to the most immediate need, but in-kind donations are accepted so long as they meet current emergency needs. In all cases, donated goods and services must be aligned with the goals of the UN.

Businesses can also donate expertise by providing full-time employees with needed skills to UN agencies, and can facilitate individual giving through employee donation programs.

 OCHA encourages businesses to develop their ability to respond to future disasters, especially by creating long-term partnerships with emergency relief organisations.  OCHA also encourages support after the initial disaster passes, as reconstruction often costs ten or more times the cost of the initial response.

The UN Global Compact

The UN Global Compact  is a public-private initiative that joins businesses with the UN to make commitments to sustainability and corporate citizenship in four core areas: human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. By signing the Compact, businesses agree to implement and promote ten universal principles and to make annual contributions according to revenue-based guidelines.

Participating in the Compact allows businesses to contribute to the creation of a “more sustainable and inclusive global economy,” as well as to enjoy the benefits of partnering with the UN, governments, civil society, labor, and other non-business interests to develop best practices and implement an “established and globally recognized policy framework for the development.”

The World Summit for the Future of Haiti was held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on June 2, 2010   It was hosted by Dominican President Leonel Fernandez who opened summit along with Haitian President Rene Preval,  U.N. special envoy to Haiti former president Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive.  This was a follow up to the summit held in New York on March 31 in which a total of almost 10 billion dollars was pledged by the various countries and international organizations that attended.

The June 2 summit was organized in effort to begin to review the funds that had already been pledged in the months following the New York summit. The day was spent discussing ways to create and implement initiatives aimed at rebuilding the Haitian infrastructure after the devastating earthquake of January 12. The focus was on projects that would restore some of Haiti’s most basic systems such as water, sewage and electricity, as well as building housing for the many displaced Haitians.

Fifty-four donor countries and 35 international organizations attended the summit. According to President Fernandez, by its close, a total of 7.81 billion was promised to help aid in the reconstruction of Haiti- still short of the 10 billion originally pledged in New York.  Most of these funds have not yet been delivered.

“ All this leads to the figure of US$6.71 billion. If we add the US$1.30 billion offered by the United States in the Summit in New York to that, we’ve already identified US$ 7.81 billion in pledges for Haiti’s reconstruction” (President Fernandez) .

 Former President Clinton and Prime Minister Bellerive are charged with using $ 5.3 billion of those dollars to fund various reconstruction projects over the next 18 months. The new Interim Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti (ICRH), will have their first meeting on June 14th to discuss further details.

Another concern was the safety of the million or so Haitians who are now homeless and susceptible to the 2010 Hurricane season which began June 1. Efforts are being made to ensure their protection and secure housing for the refugees in order to shield them from the effects of the harsh season and prevent further tragedy.

“We have more than one million people that are currently living in very precarious conditions, in camping tents,” stated Clinton, who is the United Nation’s Special Envoy to Haiti. “We can not allow for people to die during this Hurricane Season because they inhabit temporary dwellings.”

As Haiti starts to recover from the earthquake, but while access to much of the promised funding is yet unavailable, it’s important to remember the beginnings of the tragedy.

The PPAF YouTube channel now provides links to several videos from the United Nations in Action series that recount the first two months after the earthquake in Haiti.   Also linked is an earlier video on the protection of mangroves in the north. 

MINUSTAH hit hard by Haiti’s earthquake

Haiti’s Earthquake disaster

Haiti: Emergency medical care after the quake

Haiti: Search and rescue

Haiti: Food aid continues

Haiti Earthquake: UNICEF helps children to reunite with their families

Les soins médicaux d’urgence à la suite du séisme en Haïti

L’aide alimentaire continue en Haïti

Durement touchée par le tremblement de terre en Haïti

L’opération de recherche et secours en Haïti

Haiti: mangrove protection

Everyone interested in learning about the US $9.9 billion in funds pledged at the Haiti Donors Conference, and about tracking their use, will welcome the news that the Government of Haiti and the United Nations Development Program have established a website for such tracking.   The new site, available in French and English,  includes articles, a map of pledges, and a “dashboard” providing analytics.   It also includes the French and English versions of the National Reconstruction and Development Plan.     The website is a “work in progress” which will be updated.

Version francais:  http://www.refondation.ht/index.jsp?&lng=fr 

English version:  http://www.refondation.ht/index.jsp?&lng=en

Woman cooking in an American Relief Committee Camp

The photo above shows life in a displaced persons camp in Haiti.  Many are living with less.  Extradordinary reconstruction is needed. 

The United States and the United Nations (UN), in cooperation with the Government of Haiti, and with the support of Brazil, Canada, the European Union, France, and Spain,  co-hosted the “International Donors’ Conference Towards a New Future for Haiti” at the United Nations in New York on March 31.   Co-Chairs were UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Haiti President René Préval.

PPAF Executive Director David Stillman had the good fortune to speak briefly with President Clinton at the conference about ideas developed during Stillman’s recent trip to Haiti.   PPAF expects to follow up on this in the coming weeks.

The goal of the donors conference was to mobilize international support for the development needs of Haiti in an effort to lay the foundation for the country’s long-term recovery.  The Prime Minister of Haiti  presented the Action Plan for Haiti’s future and explained how international support can assist. Countries, international organizations, and other partners had an opportunity to pledge resources, to discuss coordination in support of Haiti’s long-term recovery and to commit to a sustained effort to support Haiti.

At the conference, the United Nations Members States and International Partners pledged US$ 5.3 billion for the next two years and US$ 9.9 billion in total for the next three years and beyond. 

View here the Closing Press Conference .   The action plan, the meeting agenda and the final communiqué also available on the www.haiticonference.org site.

Haiti:  Building Back Better was the underlying theme of three meetings held at the United Nations on February 24.  UN Webcasts are available for all three — click on the blue titles below.  

David Stillman spoke at the morning session – the Communications Workshop.  A group of PPAF and related colleagues attended, including Scott Wright and Jeanne Betsock Stillman, board members; John L. German, Senior Fellow; Rosario Rodriguez, Associate; and colleagues Rodney Leon and Renan X. Pierre, Haiti Initiative for Building, Infrastructure and Sustainable Communities (HIBISCUS), Alex Krutansky (businessman) and Dr. Leo Slutsky.  Stillman’s remarks can be found at:   39′42″ and Q&A at 1:12′ 53″ and 1: 35′

UN Department of Public Information/NGO Communications Workshop on “NGOs responding to crisis: Meeting new challenges – The case of Haiti“.  1 hr 49 min. Ambassador Jean-Wesley Cazeau, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Mission of Haiti to the UN, gave opening remarks on the situation in Haiti.  Speakers included: Nicholas Reader, Deputy Spokesperson of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA); Patrick McCormick, Senior Emergency Communications Specialist and Deputy Chief of Media Relations at UNICEF HQ; Jocelyn McCalla, Senior Advisor to the Special Envoy of Haiti for the United Nations; David Stillman, Executive Director of the Public-Private Alliance Foundation (PPAF); and Patricia Sacristan, past Chair of the Young Professionals for International Cooperation, United Nations Association of the USA, Southern New York State Division.  The Moderator was Gail Bindley-Taylor Sainté, Information Officer, NGO Relations, UN Department of Public Information.

Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General focused on the Situation in Haiti.  1 hr. 4 min. Anthony Banbury, Acting Principal Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) briefed journalists on the situation in Haiti.

Special Event: “Haiti Re-Building Against All Odds: Fostering Partnerships”.  1 hr. 41 min. Organized by the United Nations Association of Haiti in Collaboration with the Permanent Mission of Haiti to the United Nations.   The event was opened by Harvey Dupiton, new Secretary-General of the United Nations Association of Haiti.   Ambassador Francis Lorenzo, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the UN, co-founder of the UN Association of the Dominican Republic, and Vice-Chair of the PPAF Board, gave welcoming remarks.   Ambassador Leo Merores, Permanent Representative of Haiti to the United Nations, gave the keynote address.   Panels included ”Community Level Participation in Education and Health,” “Partnerships in Microfinance and a Diaspora-originated Investment Fund for Haiti” and ”How Can Haiti’s Dynamic Music and Art Culture Boost Development?”

Currently all United Nations Webcasts on Haiti are being grouped at the following site:  http://www.un.org/webcast/haiti.html

PPAF has posted materials on its website (see Events Section) relating to the Bioenergy Sectoral Meetings held at the National Energy Commission of the Dominican Republic from 2 to 4 December 2009.   This includes the Spanish language report approved by the CNE as well as links to the invitation, photos and videos filmed in the D.R. with Dominican TV Revista 110 and by PPAF.

PPAF ha publicado material en su sitio web (Sección Eventos), relativa a las reuniones sectoriales de Bioenergía, celebrada en la Comisión Nacional de Energía de la República Dominicana 2 a 4 diciembre de 2009. Esto incluye el informe en español, aprobado por el CNE, así como enlaces a la invitación, fotos y vídeos.

The meetings brought out the views of representatives from the public sector, the financial community and companies with pilot field experience, and academics and the private sector — over 55 people in total.  

En las reuniones participaron los representantes del sector público, la comunidad financiera y las empresas con la experiencia sobre el terreno, y los académicos y el sector privado – más de 55 personas en total.

In addition to the National Energy Commission (CNE) as host and leader, the Public-Private Alliance Foundation and ResearchPAYS, Inc. benefited from collaboration and sponsorship from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the RJS Group, S.A., and the United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP).  The December discussions expanded upon the recommendations reached at the introductory session held in Santo Domingo in early October, where Grupo Vicini, the Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Organization (IREO) and the Center for Export and Investment of the Dominican Republic (CEI-RD) were sponsors as well.

Además de la Comisión Nacional de Energía (CNE), como anfitrión y líder de la Public-Private Alliance Foundation y ResearchPAYS, Inc. beneficiado de la colaboración y el patrocinio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, el Grupo de RJS, SA, y la United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP). Los debates de diciembre ampliaron las recomendaciones formuladas en la sesión preliminar celebrada en Santo Domingo a principios de octubre, donde el Grupo Vicini, la Organización Intergubernamental de Energías Renovables (IREO) y el Centro de Exportación e Inversión de la República Dominicana (CEI-RD) fueron los patrocinadores también.

The Public-Private Alliance Foundation is receiving offers of assistance and inquiries from companies and individuals about getting involved in work relating to the immediate crisis in Haiti, as well as longer-term actions.  PPAF is working with several groups on providing generators and warehouse space, as well as longer-range programming.  Feel free to send your ideas and offers of assistance for collaborative work to: ppafoundation@gmail.com

We want to share important sources for learning about what is happening beyond what is reported in the press.

(1)     The Interagency Standing Committee of the United Nations

Only through pooling information from many relief sources can one start to understand what is happening on the ground. The Interagency Standing Committee (IASC) of the United Nations is the main mechanism for interagency coordination of humanitarian assistance, involving key UN and non-UN humanitarian partners. See http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/iasc/

The IASC  is chaired by the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), Sir John Holmes. The full members are the heads of the UN humanitarian agencies. Standing invitees include Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, World Bank, International Organization for Migration, International Committee of the Red Cross, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Inter-Action, International Council of Voluntary Agencies (represented by World Vision International) and the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (represented by Oxfam).

The Logistics Cluster of the IASC is an excellent source for daily news updates which give information on the logistics situation in Haiti and in the D.R. for Haiti, as well as other extensive information. See the http://www.logcluster.org website.   The World Food Program is the lead agency for the Logistics Cluster.

(2)  The Center for International Disaster Information

The Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) encourages Americans to respond appropriately and responsibly to the earthquake in Haiti. Those who wish to best help the victims in Haiti are asked to donate cash as an alternative to in-kind donations such as clothing and canned goods. Cash donations are widely recognized as the most efficient and effective means of relief, a policy supported by CIDI’s funding partner, the United States Agency for International Development’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, and those in the established international disaster response community.

This extensive site provides guidelines for giving aid, information for individuals, non-profit organizations, corporations and teachers, and links to the federal business opportunity site for “requests for proposals.”

For those who want to volunteer, the CIDI website provides information about the types of volunteers who are needed and accepted by most agencies: usually people with relevant language skills, at least ten years’ experience in disaster relief, with specific skills in medicine, health, communications and logistics, and willing to spend at least three months in country.  Full details are available on the website.  There is a place to register your availability; relief agencies review the database and independently contact potential volunteers.  See http://www.cidi.org

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Ambassador Leo Merores, Permanent Representative of Haiti to the United Nations, and Ambassador Federico Alberto Cuello Camilo, Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations, spoke at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, January 22, 2010.  The topic was: “Strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations.” in relation to the Emergency Situation in Haiti.

El Secretario General Ban Ki-moon, Embajador Léo Mérorès, Representante Permanente de Haití ante las Naciones Unidas, y el Embajador Federico Alberto Cuello Camilo, Representante Permanente de la República Dominicana ante las Naciones Unidas, habló en la Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas en Viernes, 22 de enero 2010. El tema fue: “Fortalecimiento de la coordinación de la asistencia humanitaria de emergencia de las Naciones Unidas.” En relación con la situación de emergencia en Haití.

Le Secretaire-General Ban Ki-moon, Ambassadeur Léo Mérorès, Représentant permanent d’Haïti auprès de l’Organisation des Nations Unies, et l’Ambassadeur Federico Alberto Cuello Camilo, Représentant permanent de la République dominicaine auprès de l’Organisation des Nations Unies, a parlé lors de l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies le vendredi 22 Janvier, 2010. Le thème était: «Renforcement de la coordination de l’aide humanitaire d’urgence de l’Organisation des Nations Unies.” Par rapport à la situation d’urgence en Haïti.

Full webcasts of the session are available in two forms:  with all speeches translated into English, and with all speeches in their original languages.

Lleno transmisiones de las sesiones están disponibles en dos formas: con todos los discursos traducidos al Inglés, y con todos los discursos en sus idiomas originales

Webémissions de la session sont disponibles sous deux formes: avec tous les discours traduit en anglais, et avec tous les discours dans leur langue originale

http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/ga/64/2010/ga100122am.rm  [ENGLISH]

http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/ga/64/2010/ga100122am-orig.rm  [ORIGINAL]

Mr. Ban Ki-Moon – English; Amb. Merores – francais; Amb. Cuello – espanol.

Approximate times:

07:08’ to 21:45’ –         UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon:    

37:44’ to 43:33’ –         Ambassador Leo Merores

01:59 to 02:07’ –         Ambassador Federico Alberto Cuello Camilo