United Nations Awards Special Status To The Pearl Initiative

The Pearl Initiative, the leading non-profit organisation working to promote increased transparency and corporate governance practices across the Gulf Region, has been awarded special consultative status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), making it the first private non-profit based in the UAE to be granted such status.

By virtue of its Special Consultative Status, the Pearl Initiative is able to appoint and designate authorised representatives to the UN Headquarters in New York and the UN offices in Geneva and Vienna. The Pearl Initiative will also be authorised to attend meetings of ECOSOC as well as all UN bodies that are open to non-profit organisations, including the General Assembly and other United Nations relevant bodies, thereby allowing the Pearl Initiative to promote its corporate governance activities with decision makers at the highest levels in furtherance of its objectives. In addition, the Pearl Initiative will be able to submit written and oral representations to the Council which will be circulated by the Secretary General to Council members.

ECOSOC, one of the six principle committees of the UN with a council consisting of 54 Members States, adopting the recommendation of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), recognised the Pearl Initiative with Special Status at its Coordination and Management meeting on the 6th June 2019 at the UN Headquarters in New York.

ECOSOC is the United Nations’ central platform for reflection, debate, and innovative thinking on sustainable development and is the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as for implementation of the internationally agreed development goals.

Reacting to the news, Badr Jafar, Founder of the Pearl Initiative stated, “The Pearl Initiative was founded in 2010 in collaboration with the United Nations Office of Partnerships, and our launch event took place at the UN Headquarters on the side-lines of the UN General Assembly. The ECOSOC Consultative Status award is an acknowledgement of the Pearl Initiative’s important contribution towards creating a corporate culture of transparency and accountability across the Gulf Region.”

Badr Jafar added “On behalf of our Board of Governors, we continue to be grateful for the support of all our partners and stakeholders, including the United Nations, and very much look forward to continued collaboration in furtherance of realizing our vision which is a thriving economy in the Gulf Region underpinned by a Private Sector that embraces good governance as a pillar of sustainable growth.”

Since 2010, the Pearl Initiative has been spearheading programs to promote higher standards of corporate governance in the Gulf Region’s Private Sector, including in family firms, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), the tech sector, and more recently also in support of the philanthropic sector in the region.

The Pearl Initiative engages the business and student community in the Gulf Region and has formally partnered with over 40 prominent regional and global businesses and collaborated with 35 universities across the Region to collectively drive its mission forward by delivering workshops, educational resources, and network building engagements. Since its establishment, the Pearl Initiative has conducted 133 events and workshops across the Gulf Region, engaged with more than 7,400 business leaders through its events, and worked with over to 9,300 students across the Region.