The United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan has been accused of offering Nike

The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, has been accused of offering Nike, Royal Dutch Shell and other global corporations the right to use the UN emblem and logo to help them rebrand their image.
Chief executives of 50 corporate giants have been invited by Mr Annan to the UN headquarters in New York today to sign up to a voluntary “partnership” scheme aimed at persuading them to end Third World sweatshops and corporate environmental abuses.The list of companies invited includes the global giants Nike, Shell, and mining company Rio Tinto, all accused in the past of human rights violations.The scheme in theory commits them to upholding nine human rights principles including the rights of workers to unionise, the elimination of child labour and the development of environmentally friendly technologies.But the plan, which the UN is calling “the global compact”, has provoked the fury of a coalition of aid and environmental agencies and leading development academics. They claim it will allow companies accused of human rights violations to win UN endorsement and use the UN emblem to give their corporate activities a branding makeover, while doing nothing of substance to clean up conditions in their factories and industrial sites.”It allows companies like Nike … to wrap themselves in the UN flag without any binding committment to change,” said Joshua Karliner, executive director of the San Francisco-based corporate monitoring group Trac (Transnational Resource and Action). “This will enhance the Nike brand name and could be a powerful marketing tool.”The scheme will require companies to post on a UN website regular information about the steps they are taking to end sweatshop conditions and environmental degradation. But they will be under no obligation to observe a code of conduct or set minimum standards.A letter to the secretarygeneral signed by 20 nongovernmental agencies including Greenpeace said the initiative implied that UN official policy was to supportcorporate-driven globalisation.The voluntary nature of the initiative, without any monitoring or enforcement procedures, would allow corporations to “wrap themselves in the flag of the United Nations in order to ‘bluewash’ their public image while at the same time avoiding significant changes to their behaviour”, the letter said.

“Without monitoring, the public will be no better able to assess the behaviour as opposed to the rhetoric of corporations.”John Ruggie, chief adviserto Mr Annan, said the initiative reflected concern in the United Nations at the unfettered growth of globalisation.He said labour organisations such as the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, human rights groups including Amnesty International, and environmental groups such as the World Wide Fund, which have agreed to take part, would not allow corporations to “hoodwink” the public. “It’s about making the world a better place,” Mr Ruggie said.. After three days of fevered speculation, the Republican Party’s presidential ticket was finalised yesterday when the nominee, George W Bush, confirmed that he had chosen Richard Cheney, former Congressman, former White House chief of staff and former Defense Secretary, to be his running mate. After three days of fevered speculation, the Republican Party’s presidential ticket was finalised yesterday when the nominee, George W Bush, confirmed that he had chosen Richard Cheney, former Congressman, former White House chief of staff and former Defense Secretary, to be his running mate.
Mr Bush broke the news to Mr Cheney in a dawn phone call to his home in Dallas; he later revealed his choice to reporters in Austin and planned a joint rally at the University of Texas in the afternoon. Mr Cheney, his columnist wife, Lynne, and their daughter, Elizabeth, flew to Austin for lunch with the Bushes at the Texas Governor’s mansion.At the weekend, Mr Cheney, 59, is expected to accompany Mr Bush on a five-day trip through Middle America that will culminate in their arrival, together, in Philadelphia for the final day of the Republican Convention next week.

Senior Republicans, including disappointed contenders for the slot, rallied around Mr Cheney, describing him as an excellent choice and an ideal complement to Mr Bush.Senator John McCain, defeated by Mr Bush in a bitter primary campaign but stillenjoying wide support, said Mr Cheney would be “an outstanding Vice-President … and one who will garner significant support throughout the party and the country”.A Bush-McCain ticket had been seen by many, not only Republicans, as offering Mr Bush an almost failsafe route to the White House. But Mr McCain had said he would not accept the number two slot, even if it was offered.But some eyebrows were raised by Mr Bush selecting the very person he had entrusted with the task of finding him a running mate. Mr Cheney, a trusted friend of the Bushes, was chairman of the search committee and in charge of obtaining information – including extensive dossiers with personal financial and other information – from the shortlisted candidates. He knows a great deal about individuals who might find themselves nominated for cabinet posts in the event of a Bush victory.The Cheney rumours started last Friday after sources said he had made a brief trip to Wyoming, where he has a farm, to register as a voter there.

The US Constitution discourages a presidential ticket where both candidates come from the same state.If Mr Cheney had not changed his registration, Mr Bush could have been deprived of all the electoral college votes from Texas, votes that could be crucial if the election is as close as predicted.Mr Cheney, who has suffered three heart attacks and underwent a quadruple bypass operation 12 years ago, had spent a day at a Washington hospital late last week for checks to confirm his fitness.In the camp of Mr Bush’s Democratic White House rival, Vice-President Al Gore, the mood was quietly upbeat. Mr Bush’s decision to plump for a politically “safe” Washington insider, and a white male to boot, was described as timid.Not only does the selection of Mr Cheney pre-empt that pressure, it offers the Gore campaign several new lines of attack.By yesterday, Mr Cheney’s health record was already the butt of talkshow jokes. His last-minute change of voter registration also exposes him to accusations of dubious sleight of hand, because Mr Cheney’s primary residence now is clearly Texas, though he represented Wyoming for 11 years in Congress.Above all, Mr Cheney’s position as Defense Secretary in the administration of George Bush Senior enables the Gore team to present George W Bush as a creature of his father.Or, as Democratic campaigners were dubbing him yesterday, a “retro-candidate”.. Richard (Dick) Cheney, 59, was immediately judged a safe and solid choice whose strengths complement most of George W Bush’s perceived weaknesses.

Mr Bush had said that his two priorities in selecting a running mate were personal loyalty and the capacity to take over as president should that be necessary. Mr Cheney, a long-time friend of the Bush family who has extensive Washington experience, including high ratings as Defence Secretary during the Gulf War, scores highly on both counts. Richard (Dick) Cheney, 59, was immediately judged a safe and solid choice whose strengths complement most of George W Bush’s perceived weaknesses. Mr Bush had said that his two priorities in selecting a running mate were personal loyalty and the capacity to take over as president should that be necessary. Mr Cheney, a long-time friend of the Bush family who has extensive Washington experience, including high ratings as Defence Secretary during the Gulf War, scores highly on both counts.
Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1941, Mr Cheney graduated from the University of Wyoming in political science after a brief spell at Yale. He married Lynne, a Wyoming girl, and made his home in that state.He entered politics early, becoming White House Chief of Staff to President Gerald Ford at the age of 34, after serving as his deputy assistant.