A/HRC/38/20 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 14 May 2018 Original: English Human Rights Council Thirty-eighth session 18 June–6 July 2018 Agenda items 2 and 3 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Improving accountability and access to remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuse through State-based non-judicial mechanisms Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Summary The present report sets out recommended action to improve accountability and access to remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuses through State-based non-judicial mechanisms. It has been compiled as part of the Accountability and Remedy Project of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), pursuant to the request of the Human Rights Council in its resolution 32/10. It follows up on the report on accountability and access to remedy through judicial mechanisms prepared during the first phase of the Project (see A/HRC/32/19 and Add.1). In the report, the High Commissioner explains the scope of the work involved and the approach taken by OHCHR, and makes general observations about the role of Statebased non-judicial mechanisms in achieving accountability and access to remedy in business and human rights cases. The report includes an annex containing a set of recommended “policy objectives” for States, supported by a series of elements intended to demonstrate the different ways that States can work towards meeting those objectives. Additional explanations, drawn from the two-year research process undertaken by OHCHR, are contained in an addendum to the report (A/HRC/38/20/Add.1). GE.18-07714(E) 