The FINANCIAL — On 7 September, the United Nations Global Compact officially launched the Global Compact Network DRC in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Organized by the Network, with support from the Embassy of the Netherlands in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the event brought together more than 150 representatives from business, UN, civil society and Government, including the Ministers of Labour, Environment and Justice as well as representatives from the Ministry of Human Rights, representing the four thematic areas of the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact.
As President of the newly-launched Network in the DRC, Monique Gieskes called the establishment of a Local Network a “necessary step” for the private sector in the country and an opportunity for business to work together to improve the business environment in the DRC. Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, Chair of the Board for the Foundation for the Global Compact, further supported these sentiments calling the event in Kinshasa, a “historic occasion” and encouraged companies at the event to take up the cause of the UN Global Compact. The only way for the UN Global Compact to create a lasting impact and reach the millions of companies around the world is through the Local Networks, he noted, saying, “the success of the SDGs depends on the Local Networks, without them, we will not be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Other high-level speakers at the event included H.E. Robert Schuddeboom, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to the Democratic Republic of Congo, H.E. Maman Sambo Sidikou, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Deputy Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, H.E. Professeur Tshibangu Kalala, according to the United Nations Global Compact.
