A/HRC/44/56 Indigenous peoples, nomadic tribes, women and girls, human rights defenders and trade unionists were identified as being at heightened risk of abuse. Participants discussed opportunities for taking a unified approach to common issues across borders and for developing coordinated strategies in cooperation with businesses operating in multiple countries in order to gain a common understanding of the challenges and possible solutions. 58. Information was shared on positive policy and legislative developments in some countries and on the role of national human rights institutions for advancing respect for human rights by businesses and for strengthening access to remedy for harm caused. IV. Corporate respect for human rights A. Towards an effective approach to human rights due diligence: challenges and emerging practices 59. All stakeholder groups called upon Governments to step up. Civil society organizations, as well as some Governments, business organizations and investors, backed the call to adopt a smarter mix of measures and mandatory human rights due diligence legislation. Some stakeholder groups, including from the private sector, agreed on the need for more mandatory legislation, alongside voluntary measures, which would allow for a level playing field and legal clarity. All these measures, including at the national and international levels, needed to be aligned. Private sector representatives reiterated the need for additional government support, especially in providing regulation, tools, guidelines and peer-learning platforms. Participants in one session explicitly asked whether businesses preferred action or inaction from Governments. Some business representatives provided examples of when they had called on Governments to do more on business and human rights. Some participants observed that government initiatives were more likely to be practical and effective for business when Governments clarified expectations, levelled the playing field, shifted from policy to practice and provided instructions that were simple to follow. Business support could provide Governments with the confidence they needed to take decisive action, including by introducing new regulatory requirements. B. Tackling systemic issues across the value chain 60. During the eighth session of the Forum, participants stressed that Governments needed to regulate supply chains in order to prevent human rights abuses from happening. Addressing issues in the supply chains was critical. 61. One panel explored the different legislative approaches taken in Australia, Brazil and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as in Hong Kong, China, to eradicate modern slavery. According to some businesses, laws such as the Modern Slavery Act of 2018 in Australia and the Modern Slavery Act of 2015 in the United Kingdom could benefit companies that were serious about and committed to addressing modern slavery. Concern was expressed about the fact such laws did not reach companies that were not part of the global value chain and that, over time, it would be important to broaden the focus of modern slavery laws to encompass all human rights issues. A key concern was the immediate need to build know-how among business practitioners and their professional advisers to ensure that modern slavery laws led to meaningful action rather than to the adoption of a minimum-compliance approach. 62. In a session dedicated to the cocoa sector, participants discussed the work being done to fight forced and child labour, including through the elaboration of two national action plans addressing the root causes of child labour and exploitation in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Participants agreed that tackling poverty and providing education should be accompanied by strengthened transparency from all actors involved in the supply chain as a precondition for eradicating child labour. 13