A/HRC/30/35 business relationships), 45 it is made clear that there is a responsibility on the part of businesses to effectively address contemporary forms of slavery in their supply chains. 42. In order to meet their responsibility to respect human rights, businesses need to, as per principle 16, adopt human rights policy statements, the criteria for which are set out in this principle. The responsibility to respect also requires ongoing human rights due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for human rights impacts (principles 17–21). The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights also state that, where businesses identify that they have caused or contributed to adverse human rights impacts, they should have processes in place to enable remediation (principle 15).46 43. The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights provide conceptual and operational clarity for the two human rights principles of the Global Compact Initiative,47 a broad-based multi-stakeholder initiative addressed to business, launched in 2000. The Global Compact brings together Governments, employers, civil society groups and trade unions, as well as other stakeholders, on the basis of 10 universally accepted principles of human rights, labour, environment and the fight against corruption. The principles are drawn from key United Nations and ILO standards, with contemporary forms of slavery figuring prominently among the categories of human rights and labour rights (principles 1, 2, 4 and 5). Since the Global Compact’s launch, more than 12,000 participants, including over 8,000 businesses from 145 countries, have joined. The high number of the initiative’s participants is commendable, but the most obvious gap of Global Compact is in terms of a follow-up mechanism for monitoring and implementation, since businesses need only to communicate annually on progress made in implementing the 10 principles. 44. The first initiatives at the international level to address conduct of businesses emerged in the 1970s. In 1977, ILO adopted the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (subsequently amended in 2000 and 2006). It commits Governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations and multinational enterprises to respecting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants adopted by the General Assembly. In 2014, the ILO Governing Body adopted an implementation strategy for a new follow-up mechanism to the Declaration48 (which is not yet aligned with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights) envisaging publicprivate initiatives and technical cooperation, as well as awareness-raising, capacitybuilding, country-level support, research and information-gathering. 45. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises49 were adopted in 1976 and updated five times, most recently in May 2011 to include a new chapter on human rights and business consistent with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In the Guidelines, explicit reference is made to the responsibilities of multinational enterprises in relation to their supply chains.50 A system of national contact points — a non-judicial mechanism that the adhering countries are obliged to set up — are established thereunder. National contact points contribute to the 45 46 47 48 49 50 See ibid., p. 32. See section F. For more information, see www.unglobalcompact.org/. See also OHCHR, “The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Relationship to United Nations Global Compact Commitments – July 2011 (Updated June 2014)” (https://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/human_rights/Resources/GPs_GC%20note.pdf). GB.320/POL/10, 14 February 2014. Available at www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/--relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_236168.pdf. One of four instruments of the 1976 OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises. See http://mneguidelines.oecd.org/text/. See commentary on general policies contained in the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, para. 10 (www.oecd.org/daf/inv/mne/48004323.pdf). 13