A/HRC/44/56 human rights agenda through different activities, such as the retreat of the Council held in Dakar in October 2019, where discussions focused on gaps in addressing human rights abuses by business activities and possible ways forward. She stressed that the theme of the eighth session of the Forum provided a timely reminder for all Governments that it was time to take decisive and concrete action in the discharge of their duty to provide protection against human rights abuses and uphold international human rights law. She reiterated the need to adopt a smart mix of regulatory and voluntary measures, international action and national policies to meet the State duty to protect and foster business respect for human rights. She provided an update on the recent work of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises. 3 In conclusion, she highlighted the role of the Forum as a unique facilitator for open, collective discussions about solutions among all relevant stakeholder groups on an equal footing. 12. The Chair of the Working Group noted that government action was overdue and that it was urgent to adequately address the challenges of today and prevent those of tomorrow. She welcomed the positive, progressive legal and policy developments, such as the adoption of anti-slavery legislation in some jurisdictions and the French “duty of vigilance law”, and the discussions on mandatory human rights due diligence taking place at the European Union level under the Finnish presidency of the Council of the European Union. She welcomed the growing momentum on the development of national action plans on business and human rights in different regions. She encouraged those States that had not already done so to follow and produce national action plans in line with the Guiding Principles and to implement them in a cohesive way. The Chair recalled that effective regulation levelled the playing field and provided legal certainty for companies to discharge their responsibilities under the Guiding Principles and highlighted the growing number of companies openly supporting mandatory human rights due diligence legislation in certain countries. 13. The Chair of the Working Group reminded participants that, despite such developments, people in all regions continued to suffer from business-related harms, often on a large scale, and with irreversible damage. She stressed that more than 152 million children were victims of child labour and that 25 million adults and children were in forced labour, including in global supply chains. Continuous violence and judicial harassment against human rights defenders, the high risks of exploitation faced by migrants, the risks posed by dam failures, discrimination, gender inequality and the risks associated with emerging technologies, among other issues, had been raised by the Working Group as systemic challenges that needed to be tackled. The Chair expressed concern about the fact that most companies still had not adopted effective strategies and policies to fulfil their responsibility to respect human rights.4 14. The Chair of the Working Group recalled the need for Governments to advance corporate human rights due diligence as part of standard business practices, and to use all available levers to address market failures and close governance gaps. 5 Corruption too was a root cause of human rights abuses in many contexts and Governments should lead by example in their role as economic actors. Moreover, Governments should urgently ensure access to remedy for victims and ensure that the particular risks faced by women and girls were duly taken into account when developing regulations or policies to prevent and address business-related human rights abuses. The Chair recalled the importance of developing a common vision for the way forward, through an inclusive and constructive multi-stakeholder dialogue focused on practical solutions. 15. The Minister for Foreign Trade and Nordic Affairs of Sweden shared lessons learned from efforts made by Sweden in seven key areas related to business and human rights, namely: social dialogue; protection of the human rights of women and girls, which was essential for sustainable economic development and not just the right thing to do, as gender inequality was always wasteful; the fight against corruption; human rights- 3 4 5 4 For more information on the fifth session of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises, see www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/ HRC/WGTransCorp/Session5/Pages/Session5.aspx. See www.corporatebenchmark.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/CHRB2019KeyFindingsReport.pdf. A/73/163, para. 93.