A/HRC/41/49 Category of participating stakeholders Total (%) Private sector (business enterprises, business/industry associations, consultancies, law firms, investors) 29.6 Civil society organizations, affected stakeholders, trade unions and indigenous peoples’ groups 34.4 Multi-stakeholder initiatives 3.0 National human rights institutions 2.5 States 8.2 United Nations/intergovernmental organizations 5.5 Other 5.2 7. Participation has increased significantly since the first Forum, held in 2012, when some 1,000 people registered. Private sector representation has also witnessed steady growth, reaching over 29 per cent of the total. Fifty-seven per cent of registered participants were women, and 55 per cent of participants with predefined speaking roles were women. II. Key messages from the plenary sessions A. Opening plenary2 8. The Forum was opened by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Chair of the Working Group. In their opening remarks, they welcomed the increasing interest in the Forum, which indicated that the movement to ensure that businesses upheld human rights was gaining momentum. At the same time, they stressed that several gaps and challenges remained with regard to government action and business respect for human rights in practice. 9. The High Commissioner, highlighting the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the need for all actors, including business, to stand up for human rights, recalled that the Declaration calls “every individual and organ of society” to strive to promote respect for human rights. She expressed concern about the number of attacks on women and men who were speaking up and taking action to defend their communities against human rights abuses in the context of business operations, and that this situation needed to be addressed by both States and business enterprises and organizations. She noted that upholding human rights was in the interest of all actors: “Societies become stronger; people benefit from greater opportunities, dignity and freedom; and businesses do better, because upholding human rights is good for their bottom line, as well as their reputation. Evidence shows that doing the right thing is also the smart thing to do.” 10. The Chair of the Working Group stated: “Everyone attending the Forum is on the same side of history. Coming from different world regions, representing different sectors and interests, we may have different perspectives on how to do things. But we are all here because of the same imperative: the need to ensure that all the children, women and men affected by business activity – whether in the workplace or in their community – are treated with respect for their dignity and human rights. We are all standing up for human rights.” 11. Both the High Commissioner and the Chair of the Working Group noted that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development envisages an important role for the business 2 4 A video of the opening plenary meeting is available at http://webtv.un.org/search/opening-plenaryforum-on-business-and-human-rights 2018/5971612297001/?term=&lan=english&cat=Forum%20 on%20Business%20and%20Human%20Rights&page=2.