A/HRC/29/28 I. Introduction 1. The year 2015 will be critical for setting out the course for a more just, more equitable and more sustainable future for all. As recognized in the emerging post-2015 sustainable development agenda, better protection of, and respect for, human rights in the economic sphere must be a central pillar of this endeavour. 2. Private sector financing and economic activities have helped lift millions out of poverty and contributed to the realization of human rights. However, governance gaps within and between countries have contributed to an environment in which business activities across a range of sectors and countries have undermined respect for human rights. Thus, the growing role of business enterprises in the age of globalization has brought into relief not only the need for more effective policies and regulation, but also the need to make business enterprises part of the solutions to today’s global challenges. 3. The United Nations, which was set up to lead global efforts on human rights, development and peace and security, has a particular role to play in supporting global action and governance frameworks to address the way business operates and affects human rights and development. These issues all come together in the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework (A/HRC/8/5) and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (A/HRC/17/31), endorsed by the Human Rights Council in 2011 as the authoritative global reference point on the respective roles, obligations and responsibilities of Governments and business enterprises for preventing and addressing adverse human rights impacts resulting from business activities. 4. The present report contains examples of the application of the Guiding Principles in ongoing work by the United Nations. It highlights further opportunities whereby United Nations entities and processes (including Member State-led) can contribute to scaled-up action on the Guiding Principles and to greater policy coherence between business- and development-oriented frameworks and human rights considerations. It follows on from reports of the Secretary-General calling for the business and human rights agenda and the Guiding Principles to be embedded throughout the United Nations system (A/HRC/21/21 and Corr.1 and A/HRC/26/20). 5. First briefly set out is the context of emerging convergence of current practice and initiatives around the framework set out in the Guiding Principles (sect. II). The importance of integrating the Guiding Principles into specific areas of United Nations work and processes is then discussed, focusing on the areas of trade, investment and financial institutions (sect. III), on efforts to promote sustainable development (sect. IV) and on United Nations partnerships with the private sector in support of United Nations goals (sect. V). 6. The report is not intended to cover the entire spectrum of relevant United Nations work and processes, nor provide a comprehensive mapping of current practice. Rather, it seeks to signal and raise awareness about the importance of the business and human rights perspective to development-related work of the United Nations and about ways in which the Guiding Principles can help address challenges of policy incoherence. Its ultimate objective is thus to make a contribution towards achieving socially sustainable development founded on respect for human rights for all. II. Background and context: emerging convergence 7. Global standards and initiatives relating to business and human rights have started to converge around the Guiding Principles. The corporate responsibility to respect human 3