A/HRC/37/67 I. Introduction 1. The open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights was established by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 26/9 of 26 June 2014, and mandated to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights. In the resolution, the Council decided that the Chairperson-Rapporteur should prepare elements for the draft legally binding instrument for substantive negotiations at the commencement of the third session of the working group, taking into consideration the discussions held at its first two sessions. 1 2. The third session, which took place from 23 to 27 October 2017, opened with a video statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. He congratulated the former Chair-Rapporteur for successfully steering the first two sessions in a manner that laid fertile ground for the preparation of the elements and recognized that the treaty process had entered a new phase to discuss such elements. He noted that the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were an important step towards extending the human rights framework to corporate actors. He stated that there was no inherent dichotomy between promoting the Guiding Principles and drafting new standards at the national, regional or international level aimed at protecting rights and enhancing accountability and remedy for victims of corporate-related human rights abuses. He reiterated his commitment and full support to the working group, and expressed his hope that the recommendations from the accountability and remedy project of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) could provide useful contributions to the discussion during the third session. 3. The High Commissioner’s remarks were followed by a statement of the President of the Human Rights Council, who emphasized the role that human rights must have in relation to business in a globalized world. He noted that seeking consensus and engaging in constructive cooperation and dialogue was the spirit of the first two sessions and would be key to fulfilling the mandate provided by resolution 26/9. The President further recalled the close link between the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the development of human rights, which justified its use as a starting point to form the objectives of the working group process. 4. The Director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division referred to the recommendations of the accountability and remedy project, aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of national judicial systems in ensuring accountability and access to remedy, including in cross-border cases, which could inform the working group process. She expressed the willingness of OHCHR to provide further substantial or technical advice to the working group as appropriate. II. Organization of the session A. Election of the Chair-Rapporteur 5. The working group elected Permanent Representative of Ecuador, Guillaume Long, as Chair-Rapporteur by acclamation following his nomination by the delegation of Jamaica on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States. 1 See A/HRC/31/50 and A/HRC/34/47. 3