A/HRC/41/49 53. In addition, participants acknowledged the need to address the lack of robust data to evaluate what was working in practice and guidance based on “lagging” or “leading” indicators, among others. Participants learned about relevant initiatives in this context, such as a project to develop indicators to measure the quality of purchasing practices in the apparel industry and a “local voices” programme to engage local communities affected by mining operations through a smartphone application. 54. Human rights risks and issues could differ across sectors, and companies in different sectors might need to develop tailored responses depending on their circumstances. The Forum therefore included several sector-specific sessions for focused dialogue on challenges and emerging practices, including in the oil and gas sectors, the mining sector, the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, the tourism sector, commodity trading, banking, and the food and beverages sectors.13 B. Small and medium-sized enterprises 55. Implementation by small and medium-sized enterprises remain an underexplored topic in the business and human rights agenda, despite their prevalence (about 90 per cent of all businesses, contributing up to 35 per cent of total employment in the formal sector).14 The Guiding Principles stress that the corporate responsibility to respect applies to all enterprises regardless of their size, but also acknowledge that small and medium-sized enterprises “may have less capacity, as well as more informal processes and management structures than larger companies, so their respective policies and processes will take on different forms”. Against this background, a dedicated session examined the different challenges and conditions facing those enterprises and how awareness-raising and capacitybuilding efforts and policy measures can be better tailored to support them to respect human rights in line with their respective size, capacity, resources and impact on human rights. 56. It was noted that policy measures in place did not – or did so only to a limited degree – address small and medium-size enterprises. Existing measures did not typically apply to them, e.g., the Modern Slavery Act, the French law on duty of vigilance or most existing national action plans. According to participants, given their specificities, small and medium-sized enterprises required information and support in order to successfully implement the corporate responsibility to respect, with the support provided to them needing specific tailoring in a way that corresponded to their realities. Participants noted that the human rights discourse had to become more concrete, less rhetorical and politicized and use simpler language. Other recommendations to widen the uptake of the Guiding Principles among small and medium-sized enterprises include the recommendation to: • Build on industry-focused partnerships that bring international organizations together with global brands, local business and trade unions, such as the “Better Work” initiative with ILO and the International Finance Corporation • Engage local governments in efforts to promote the Guiding Principles • Develop tailored trainings to support efforts to foster a culture of human rights at the grass-roots level • Improve cooperation and develop a true partnership between global buyers and small and medium-sized enterprise suppliers instead of command and comply-type models • Reinforce the message that corporate engagement on the Sustainable Development Goals must have respect for human rights (i.e., preventing and addressing harms to people) at the core in all relevant forums 13 14 For details about these sessions, see the Forum programme and web page. International Labour Organization, World Employment and Social Outlook 2017: Sustainable Enterprises and Jobs: Formal Enterprises and Decent Work (Geneva, 2017), p. 17. 13