With support from UNDP Iraq, an Iraqi delegation from the private sector and the Government attended the Rio+20 conference on Sustainable Development.
The delegation attended the Corporate Sustainability Forum, organised by the UN Global Compact to strengthen business contribution to sustainable development, bring greater scale to responsible business practices, advance and diffuse sustainable innovation and stimulate broader collaboration between companies, governments, civil society and the UN.
The Forum brought together 2,700 business leaders, government officials, investors, academics, grassroot activists from all over the world. It discussed six themes central to Rio+20: Energy & Climate, Water and Ecosystems, Agriculture and Food, Social Development, Urbanization and Cities and Economics and Finance.
At the forum, the Iraqi delegates were invited to speak on Business and Peace, Women Economic Empowerment and Inclusive and Green Growth in Agriculture through Public-Private Parternship. The Forum concluded with a high-level plenary, attended by the Secretary General of Iraq Council of Ministers H.E. Dr. Ali Allak, where corporate commitments and inputs to the Rio+20 Summit where finalised.
The full set of the discussion’s outcomes were collected in the document “Overview and Outcomes: Innovation & Collaboration, Public Policy Recommendations, Commitments to Action”[1] that was presented to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon at the Rio+20 Summit.
Finally, a session on “Iraq’s Experience in Sustainable Development” was held to present the national report on sustainability, prepared by the Iraqi Ministry of Planning. The session provided an opportunity to discuss the private sector cooperation and public-private partnerships and translate the Rio+20 commitments on sustainable development into actions on the ground taking the Iraqi context into account.
http://iq.one.un.org/documents/469/Sustaiblable%20Development%20-%20English.pdf
For more information and media queries please contact Ms. Juliette Touma, UNDP Iraq, juliette.touma@undp.org, +962-79-826-34-37