A/HRC/44/56 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 25 June 2020 Original: English Human Rights Council Forty-fourth session 15 June–3 July 2020 Agenda item 5 Human rights bodies and mechanisms Eighth session of the Forum on Business and Human Rights* Report of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises Summary In the present report, the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises provides an overview of key observations and messages emerging from the eighth session of the Forum on Business and Human Rights, held in Geneva from 25 to 27 November 2019. The theme of the eighth session was “Time to act: Governments as catalysts for business respect for human rights”. The main focus was on the need for all Governments to demonstrate progress, commitments and plans in implementing the State duty to protect and strengthen accountability. The programme of work included more than 60 sessions and gathered more than 2,400 participants from a range of backgrounds, including representatives of States, businesses, civil society organizations and international organizations, as well as affected groups and individuals. The report does not provide a detailed summary of all the sessions held but, rather, a broad overview and key messages emerging from the discussions. It should be read together with the programme of work, the session concept notes, the statements and the web recordings, which are available online (www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Business/ Forum/Pages/2019ForumBHR.aspx). * The present report was submitted after the deadline in order to reflect recent developments. GE.20-08369(E) 