A/HRC/17/31 12. Moreover, the text of the Guiding Principles itself has been subject to extensive consultations. In October 2010, an annotated outline was discussed in separate day-long sessions with Human Rights Council delegations, business enterprises and associations, and civil society groups. The same document was also presented at the annual meeting of the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions. Taking into account the diverse views expressed, the Special Representative then produced a full draft of the Guiding Principles and Commentary, which was sent to all Member States on 22 November 2010 and posted online for public comment until 31 January 2011. The online consultation attracted 3,576 unique visitors from 120 countries and territories. Some 100 written submissions were sent directly to the Special Representative, including by Governments. In addition, the draft Guiding Principles were discussed at an expert multistakeholder meeting, and then at a session with Council delegations, both held in January 2011. The final text now before the Council is the product of this extensive and inclusive process. 13. What do these Guiding Principles do? And how should they be read? Council endorsement of the Guiding Principles, by itself, will not bring business and human rights challenges to an end. But it will mark the end of the beginning: by establishing a common global platform for action, on which cumulative progress can be built, step-by-step, without foreclosing any other promising longer-term developments. 14. The Guiding Principles’ normative contribution lies not in the creation of new international law obligations but in elaborating the implications of existing standards and practices for States and businesses; integrating them within a single, logically coherent and comprehensive template; and identifying where the current regime falls short and how it should be improved. Each Principle is accompanied by a commentary, further clarifying its meaning and implications. 15. At the same time, the Guiding Principles are not intended as a tool kit, simply to be taken off the shelf and plugged in. While the Principles themselves are universally applicable, the means by which they are realized will reflect the fact that we live in a world of 192 United Nations Member States, 80,000 transnational enterprises, 10 times as many subsidiaries and countless millions of national firms, most of which are small and mediumsized enterprises. When it comes to means for implementation, therefore, one size does not fit all. 16. The Special Representative is honored to submit these Guiding Principles to the Human Rights Council. In doing so, he wishes to acknowledge the extraordinary contributions by hundreds of individuals, groups and institutions around the world, representing different segments of society and sectors of industry, who gave freely of their time, openly shared their experiences, debated options vigorously, and who came to constitute a global movement of sorts in support of a successful mandate: establishing universally applicable and yet practical Guiding Principles on the effective prevention of, and remedy for, business-related human rights harm. 5