Promoting ethics when partnering with the private sector for development /

Governments, United Nations (UN) agencies and others have committed to working with the private sector to achieve development outcomes in a number of major UN conferences, at the G-20 and in other high level fora.1 As the MDGs approach their deadline, the questions of how best to expand and enhance partnerships with the private sector to achieve the post-2015 development agenda is under much discu [...] For example, the joint statement on the role of the private sector in development at the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness included the following principles to maximize the benefit of coordination and collaboration for development: inclusive dialogue; collective action; sustainability; transparency; and accountability for results (HLF4 2011, 2-3). [...] The Guidelines on Cooperation between the UN and the Business Sector defines partnership as ". a voluntary and collaborative agreement or arrangement between one or more parts of the United Nations system and the Business Sector, in which all participants agree to work together to achieve a common purpose or undertake a specific task and to share risks, responsibilities, resources, and benefits" ( [...] To ensure the effective and efficient achievement of development objectives, three UN organizations (UNESCO; FAO; International Labour Organization, ILO) and the UN Guidelines refer to accountability conditions that allow the measurement and verification of tasks and responsibilities of each partner. [...] Box 2. Excerpts on fairness Impartiality and independence … the principle of impartiality, meaning that the implementation of Actions must solely respond to identified needs, without discrimination of any kind; the principle of independence, which implies the autonomy of the humanitarian Action with regard to economic or other motivations as well as the principle of neutrality which means that, in