The UN Global Compact in the MENA Region

For a few years after the Global Compact’s launch in 2000, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remained uncharted territory for the initiative. This changed in 2003, when the first efforts were undertaken to promote the Global Compact in Egypt. A high-level launch took place in Cairo in February 2004, resulting in the participation of more than 50 companies, including many of Egypt’s leading corporations. The Egyptian network, which was initially coordinated by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and later by the Egyptian Corporate Responsibility Center, grew quickly and now includes 62 organizations.

Following the first steps in Egypt, the International Labour Organization, with financial support from the Italian government, began promoting the Global Compact in Tunisia and Morocco, leading to launches in both countries in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Small networks have emerged since then, and now there are 23 participants in Morocco and 31 in Tunisia.

While the Global Compact was making progress in North Africa, outreach in the Gulf States did not take place until 2006, when the Global Compact was introduced to the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) under the leadership of Habiba Al-Marashi, who has since been appointed to the Global Compact Board. The EEG and the associated Arabia CSR Network quickly emerged as the Global Compact’s key allies in the region, leading to the creation of the regional network for companies from the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council in 2008. Participants in this network now include 61 companies and other organizations from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and, most recently, Oman.

As in many countries, much of the initial effort to promote the Global Compact and its Principles in the MENA region was spearheaded by UNDP country offices. This continues to be the case in Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. After Egypt and the Gulf States, Syria now has the region’s third-largest network with 46 active participants. In Jordan and Lebanon, the emerging networks include 33 and 9 participants, respectively.

In Israel, Maala – Business for Social Responsibility, the country’s leading CSR organization, has supported early outreach efforts and also coordinates the activities of the emerging network. So far, 24 Israeli companies have joined the Global Compact, and the network is well integrated into the Global Compact’s regional work. Network representatives also participated in the first regional meeting for MENA networks held in Cairo in April 2010.

Overall, the Global Compact has been making steady progress in the MENA region, often in adverse political and socioeconomic environments. The fact that seven Iraqi companies have joined the initiative since 2009 speaks perhaps to the appeal of the Global Compact as a universal organizing framework.

Challenges remain, of course. In a familiar pattern, small and medium-size enterprises – by far the majority of all businesses in the MENA region – struggle with continuous implementation of the Global Compact Principles, and also with annual reporting. Some networks have been lacking the structure and resources needed to be of tangible, lasting value to their participants. And of course, Global Compact participation has not yet reached the numbers needed to effect real and lasting change on a broad scale.

It remains to be seen what impact the upheavals and reform movements in the Arab world will have on the Global Compact’s work in advancing greater corporate sustainability in the region. So far, the signals have been mixed, once again underscoring that the region’s countries are all too often and all too easily treated as one monolithic political, social, and cultural space. In Tunisia, the Global Compact’s leading proponent and network focal point, Mohamed Ennaceur, has joined the new transitional cabinet as Minister of Social Affairs – a move that could certainly bode well for the advancement of corporate responsibility and the Global Compact in the country. 

In Egypt, however, the business community remains cautious, especially since many of its leaders have been subjected to reprisals and prosecution amid allegations of corruption and fraud in connection with the former political leadership. Generally, however, there appears to be a widespread consensus among many Arab businesses that reform will help improve the investment climate, put an end to years, if not decades, of bureaucracy, and help connect the Arab markets and Arab businesses to the global market in ways not imaginable just a few years ago.