As the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) turns 20, there are real concerns about the increasing influence of major corporations and business lobby groups within the UN

There are real concerns about the increasing influence of major corporations and business lobby groups within the UN. The problem with the UN Rio conference is not so much the talks themselves, but rather what happens in advance, during and in parallel to them. We are experiencing a corporate takeover of the UN, as big business exerts its influence in a number of ways. There is increased business influence over the positions of national governments in multilateral negotiations; business representatives dominate certain UN discussion spaces and some UN bodies; business groups are given a privileged advisory role; UN officials move back and forth to the private sector; and – last but not least – UN agencies are increasingly financially dependent on the private sector.

This publication is also available in Portuguese: Liberemos a ONU da captura corporativa.