UNCTC memorial site

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Wed Mar 12 09:29:41 PST 2003


[The UN Centre on Transnational Corporations was snuffed over an extended period during the Reagan and Bush I years because the U.S. right saw it as a nest of Bolshies. It wasn't exactly, but it was quite critical of TNCs. At first it was pared back and its message weakened, and in the early 1990s it was merged into UNCTAD's operations in Geneva. About all that remains are the annual World Investment Reports, which quantify cross-border investment flows.]

From: Harris Gleckman [mailto:gleckman at un.org] Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2003 2:49 AM To: shaoloongyin at yahoo.co.uk; twnkl at po.jaring.my Cc: mapinfo at vsnl.com; marruda at alternex.com.br Subject: new website on the 'late' UN Centre on Transnational Corporations

From 1977 to 1993 the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations (UNCTC) undertook a vigorous research programme on transnational corporations, worked on policy responses to South African investment, environment, and corporate standards, and advised developing and transition countries on foreign direct investment matters. In 1993 UNCTC was disbanded. Now a group of former UNCTC staff are creating a website to make more accessible the reports and studies prepared by the Center.

The site at <http://www.benchpost.com/unctc> currently has the start of a simplified history, a core bibliography of various reports and studies, a listing of former staff, and a structure for future expansion.

At the moment, the bibliography consists of 718 reports to the Commission on Transnational Corporations, 280 research studies by UNCTC and a preliminary thematic index. A year by year table is at the bottom of this email. In addition, the UNCTC site will shortly include a decent list of the publications from the Joint Units that were located at the regional Economic Commissions.

Arrangements are being made with a firm in a developing country to scan and upload some 55,000 pages of UNCTC's publications. These files will be linked to the bibliography and thematic index.

The small team working on the website can certainly use some assistance. If users of the UNCTC site are aware of any reviews of specific studies or UNCTC projects, we appreciate the getting the appropriate URLs so they can be added to the bibliography .

Harris Gleckman (<gleckman at un.org>) is serving as webmaster for the development of this site. He was formerly Chief of the Environment Unit at UNCTC. The newly developing UNCTC documents site is not the only project looking at the history of UNCTC. The UN Intellectual History Project (<http://www.unhistory.org>), hosted at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies of the Graduate Center of CUNY, has commissioned a study tentatively called."The United Nations and Transnational Corporations: From Code to Compact - in the Eye of the Storm"; The project coordinators are Tagi Sagafi-nejad and John Dunning. Tagi's contact information is : (410)617-2450(loyola) or (973)761-9125(Seton Hall) E-Mail: <sagafinejad at loyola.edu>

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