Big Middle Eastern companies have begun to support the fight against labour abuse. - Contributed

UNITED NATIONS (AP):

The UNITED NATIONs-sponsored pledge to clamp down on corruption and unfair labour practices in business is gaining popularity in the Middle East, the U.N. office that oversees the effort said.

"Corporate responsibility is on a good track in the region and it shows in the participation in the Global Compact and the recent rise in participation," said Matthias Stausberg, coordinator of the U.N. Global Compact in the region.

The compact, which outlines a set of core values for companies including respect for human rights and fair labour, environmental responsibility and anti-corruption practices, was launched in July 2000. It now has almost 4,000 participants in over 120 countries.

Participating companies are expected to regularly disclose information about their business practices, and can be removed from the list if they fail to do so.

Companies in the group

At a briefing at U.N. headquarters on Friday, Stausberg said that more than 50 companies in the Middle East had joined the compact since the first Egyptian participant signed up in 2002.

He said businesses in the region are in a unique position t their practices with the compact's core principles, partly because of their similarity to tenets in Islam.

"There's a larger motivation for companies in the Middle East to engage in responsible practices - I think that it may be very well in accordance with religious and cultural traditions in the region. The role of the entrepreneur in society is subject to very clear rules and regulations particularly in the Quran," said Stausberg.

He cited research on the connection between Islam and corporate responsibility, including a study done by a professor at the Nottingham University Business School which focuses directly on the compatibility of Islamic principles with the Global Compact.

The Middle East participants include companies in Morocco, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, according to the compact office.

Hashem Brothers, an Egyptian agricultural company its practices with the compact by eradicating child labour, which is common on Egyptian farms, said Stausberg. The company organised educational programs in the community and microcredit loans for mothers to deter them from sending their children to work.

Stausberg also discussed challenges for the compact in the region - including the explosive growth in Gulf area cities like Dubai, where environmental issues fall by the wayside in the face of huge construction projects, and fair labour practices are often neglected by employers of the large population of migrant workers.

The compact office said there was growth in 2006 across all regions, particularly in Asia, Africa and Europe. Europe has the highest number of participants, followed by Latin America and Asia.

George Kell, executive director of the compact office, said the international success of the compact since its launch in 2000 with 47 companies is overwhelming.

Government responsibility

"Most companies at that point in time were saying: These are not our issues. This is the responsibility of governments. We are here to make a profit and we operate within regulatory frameworks and we abide by the law, but don't come to us with these issues. And that has fundamentally changed," said Kell.

"Today, the idea that through engagement you create value, you protect the brand, you build social capital, you safeguard your investment, you motivate your work force, you have a moral compass when you operate in many different countries is increasingly understood and has truly gone mainstream," he said.

The Global Compact office is hosting a summit of business leaders, government officials and heads of civil society in Geneva on July 5-6, chaired by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to discuss leadership and corporate citizenship.