United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations
(UNCTC) :
a historical collection and re-collection by former UNCTC
staff |
In 1973, the
United Nations Economic and Social Council charged a "Group of Eminent Persons"
the task of advising on matters related to transnational corporations (TNCs) and their
impace on the development process. The Group of Eminent Persons took public comments and
concluded TNCs were of increasing importance in the world economy and in the developing
process, particularly s sources of foreign direct investment (FDI), trade and technology
transfer. The Group recommended that a permanent programme of work and a Centre be
established to study TNCs and related policy issues
The Group also recommended the creation of a Commission on Transnational Corporations,
to which the Centre was to report. The Commission provided the intergovernmental forum on
transnational corporations while the Centre undertook a programme of information
gathering, research and policy analysis, technical assitance, and consensus-building to
support the work of the Commission, The UN Centre on Transnational Corporations (UNCTC)
itself began functioning in 1974 |
When the General Assembly formally
created the Commission and the Centre, it approved three broad objectives to guide the
work of the UN on transnational corporations :
- to further understanding of the political, economic, social, and legal effects of TNC
activity, especially in developing countries;
- to secure international arrangements that promote the positive contributions of TNCs to
national development goals and world economic growth while controlling and eliminating
their negative effects;
- to strengthen the negotiating capacity of host countries, in particular the developing
countires, in their dealings with TNCs
|
During most of its 17 years UNCTC had
three divisions: |
Information
Analysis Division
| responsible
for the systematic collection and analysis of information relative to TNCs at the
aggregrate and enterprise levels, relevant national and regional legislation and policies
as well as bibliographic data |
| disseminated
the above information on a continuing basis through publications and reports and other
means as may be requested by Governments |
|
Policy
Analysis Division
| responsible
for work related to the formulation of a Code of Conduct and other international
arrangements and agreements and agreements concerning TNCs, such as illict payments in
international commercial transactions |
| conducted
research on economic, legal, social, and political matters related to TNCs |
|
Advisory
Services
| provided
advisory services and information to requesting Governments on matters concerning foreign
investment policies and institutional arrangements as well as an evaluation of investment
proposals and agreements. Also provided staff work in preparation for negotiations |
| organized
training workshops on the above and on matters pertaining to negotiations with TNCs and
monitoring their activities |
|
Over time this site is intended
to make available in electronic formats
the major reports and studies of the Centre.
The site currently has an extensive bibliography on UNCTC
publications indexed by year,
by theme, and by category of publication.
To help out,
please send your comments on the
history of UNCTC and this website to the contacts below.
It would also be a great help
if you could check your old bookcases and file draws
for older UNCTC publications that are not yet located. |
For further
information contact
Harris Gleckman (gleckman @un.org),
Karl Sauvant(karl.sauvant @unctad.org) or
Khalil Hamdani (khalil.hamdani @unctad.org) |
