A/HRC/41/43 (c) Global and regional associations of national human rights institutions should build the capacity of their members to integrate gender equality as a cross-cutting issue throughout their operations, including in dealing with complaints; (d) The national contact points should identify and address additional barriers that women face in filing complaints. They should also adopt a gender-responsive approach in examining complaints and a gender-transformative approach in facilitating conciliation, mediation or dialogue between parties and in making recommendations in final statements; (e) States should ensure that customary or indigenous justice systems operate in line with women’s international human rights standards. Guiding principle 28 55. States should take necessary steps, individually or collectively, to ensure that all non-State grievance mechanisms, whether administered by business enterprises, industry associations, multi-stakeholder bodies or international financial institutions, dealing with business-related human rights abuses apply the gender framework and guidance for the Guiding Principles. 56. Illustrative actions: (a) States should provide guidance to business enterprises establishing operational-level grievance mechanisms and exercise oversight over the process to bridge the various asymmetries that exist between enterprises and affected communities, including women; (b) Grievance mechanisms established by international financial institutions should take specific measures to make potentially affected women aware of those mechanisms, draw on input from women’s organizations, adopt a gender-responsive approach in all stages of the complaint process and recommend gender-transformative remedial measures. Guiding principle 29 57. Operational-level grievance mechanisms established by business enterprises should integrate a gender perspective in accordance with the gender framework and guidance for the Guiding Principles. 58. Illustrative actions: (a) Business enterprises should ensure that potentially affected women, women’s organizations and women human rights defenders meaningfully participate in designing and administering operational-level grievance mechanisms. Moreover, the composition of bodies processing complaints should be gender-balanced; (b) Operational-level grievance mechanisms should take into account various forms of discrimination, disadvantages and barriers faced by affected women in seeking remedies and take appropriate measures to overcome those limitations; (c) Business enterprises should not require affected individuals or communities to waive their right to seek judicial or non-judicial remedies for human rights abuse; (d) Business enterprises should ensure that women making complaints do not face any intimidation or reprisals. Guiding principle 30 59. Grievance mechanisms established under human rights-related standards of industry associations, multi-stakeholder bodies or other collaborative initiatives should be developed in a gender-responsive manner and should be able to provide gender-transformative remedies. 60. Illustrative actions: (a) The entire process of developing, and reviewing the effectiveness of, such grievance mechanisms should involve the participation of women representatives, draw on 25