A/HRC/44/56 E. Corruption and human rights 84. Two sessions were organized to help inform the report of the Working Group on connecting the business and human rights and anti-corruption agendas (A/HRC/44/43). The sessions aimed to clarify how corruption affected rights holders – specifically, how corruption was linked to, caused or contributed to human rights abuses – and to provide space for peer learning based on practical examples from the business community that had contributed to the prevention of corruption and human rights abuses. 85. Recognizing that corruption had a significant impact on the enjoyment and protection of human rights, affecting especially marginalized groups in general and women and girls in particular, the Working Group emphasized the importance of adopting a people-centred approach when fighting corruption, and highlighted the positive contribution of civil society in that area. Participants agreed that corruption was not solely relevant to the public sector and that there was an urgent need to understand how corruption affected all actors. Partnership and trust were key elements in the fight against corruption and the protection of human rights. Specific training sessions for employees and employers on corruption and its impact were identified by business representatives as useful tools. F. Implementing the Guiding Principles in conflict and post-conflict contexts 86. With the aim of further informing the report of the Working Group to the General Assembly at its seventy-fifth session, and as part of the consultation process linked to its project on business and human rights in conflict-affected situations, 33 two sessions were dedicated to addressing human rights abuses related to business operations in conflict and post-conflict contexts. Key takeaways included the following: (a) A panel on the role of home States in promoting responsible investment in post-conflict contexts demonstrated that there was demand for guidance, not so much in the form of normative and legal standards, but rather in the form of practical and operational guidance; (b) There was a need to elaborate on what responsible engagement looked like when doing business and making investments involved actors that might have committed war crimes or gross human rights abuses. The question was raised of what to do when the “bad guys” were government actors with ties to the sector in question. While it was easy to advise against engaging in such contexts, it was harder to address reality and find ways of minimizing and preventing adverse impacts. One clear message was the need to look at business relationships; (c) Some useful guidance was emerging, including from Governments, such as the recent guidance from the Netherlands on conflict-sensitive private sector development. However, there was a need to identify what else was needed; (d) While the discussions emphasized the importance of legislation and mandatory human rights due diligence generally, they also stressed the need to look at other tools for driving responsible business practices. One example provided was the decision by the Government of Canada to consider withdrawing trade support to companies that failed to respect human rights, which could be an effective measure. It was stressed that there was a clear need for creativity and to make good use of the full range of available tools. VI. Key messages and takeaways 87. The key messages emerging from the sessions and discussions, as summarized by the members of the Working Group, were the following: (a) Although some States were increasingly taking action to further incentivize business respect for human rights through legal developments, policies, national action 33 18 See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Business/Pages/ConflictPostConflict.aspx.