On 31st January 1999, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan challenged world business leaders to ‘embrace and enact’ the following set of universal principles within their sphere of influence:

Human Rights:

Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights within their sphere of influence; and
Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

Labour Standards:

Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;
Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and
Principle 6: eliminate discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Environment:

Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility;
Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies

AntiCorruption:

Principle 10: Businesses should support AntiCorruption and Transparancy policy