A/HRC/41/49 I. Introduction 1. Since its first session in 2012, the Forum on Business and Human Rights has become the world’s biggest event on business and human rights. It was established by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 17/4, in which the Council also endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework (A/HRC/17/31, annex). The mandate of the Forum is to discuss trends and challenges in the implementation of the Guiding Principles; to promote dialogue and cooperation on issues linked to business and human rights, including challenges faced in particular sectors, operational environments or in relation to specific rights or groups; and to identify good practices. 2. The Forum is organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and guided and chaired by the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. The present report was prepared by the Working Group in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 35/7, in which the Council invited the Working Group to submit a report on the proceedings and thematic recommendations of the Forum to the Council for its consideration. In the report, the Working Group provides an overview of key observations and messages emerging from the Forum. 3. The programme for the 2018 Forum included three plenary sessions and more than 70 parallel sessions, the latter organized by the Working Group, OHCHR and external organizations on the basis of extensive consultations and some 360 submitted session proposals. The programme also included a series of “snapshot” presentations on current business and human rights issues. 4. Under the theme “Business respect for human rights – building on what works”, a special emphasis was put on the second pillar of the Guiding Principles: the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, and in particular the requirement that companies exercise human rights due diligence to prevent adverse impacts on people. The report on the state of play of corporate human rights due diligence in practice prepared by the Working Group for the seventy-third session General Assembly (A/73/163) provided the key reference for the Forum.1 Participants actively participated in multi-stakeholder discussions, addressing policy initiatives and case studies both in panel discussions and in sessions held in the spirit of a round-table conversation. 5. The programme included sessions dedicated to trends, challenges and emerging practices in each of the United Nations regions as well as in specific sectors. It also included a number of thematic sessions dedicated to specific issues, trends and challenges in implementing all three pillars of the Guiding Principles, such as the implications of “disruptive” technologies, applying a “gender lens” to the Guiding Principles, climate justice and transition to a green economy, corporate engagement on the Sustainable Development Goals and business in conflict-affected areas. 6. The Forum was attended by more than 2,700 participants from more than 130 States and a wide range of backgrounds (see table below). Category of participating stakeholders Academic 1 Total (%) 11.6 The report is accompanied by two companion papers that elaborate on aspects of human rights due diligence and lessons from practice on how to get started and good practice elements. Companion paper II identifies good practice elements in relation to a number of aspects of human rights due diligence, including stakeholder engagement, transparency and meaningful reporting on human rights, integrating human rights in supply chain management beyond tier one, exercising leverage, addressing systemic issues and corporate engagement on the Sustainable Development Goals. See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Business/Pages/CorporateHRDueDiligence.aspx. 3