A/HRC/44/27 E. Private sector (art. 12) 40. Several provisions of United Nations Convention against Corruption aim at preventing and suppressing corruption in the private sector (e.g. art. 12). The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights provide the internationally accepted standard for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activities. States have the duty to protect against human rights abuse by business enterprises (principle 1). 41. The Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, for example, has stated that States would violate their duty to protect Covenant rights, for instance, by failing to prevent or to counter conduct by businesses that leads to such rights being abused, or that has the foreseeable effect of leading to such rights being abused. 14 Business enterprises should avoid infringing on the human rights of others and should address adverse human rights impacts with which they are involved (principle 11). Of particular importance in this context is the duty to carry out human rights due diligence, i.e. to assess actual and potential human rights impacts that business enterprises may cause or contribute to through their own activities or that may be directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships (principle 17), and to integrate the findings from their impact assessments and take appropriate action (principle 19). Given the negative impact of corruption on the enjoyment of human rights, adopting anti-corruption compliance procedures can be seen to be part of human rights due diligence. Linking anti-corruption compliance with human rights due diligence can improve the effectiveness of both methods. 42. Ecuador drew attention to an agreement concluded between the Anti-Corruption Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic and the coordinating body of public enterprises with a view to prevent and detect corruption through anti-corruption and transparency administrative committees and the implementation of the anti-bribery management system standard (ISO 37001). 43. Sweden drew attention to anti-corruption policies, codes of conduct, corruption risk assessments and evaluations of anti-corruption management systems as part of due diligence processes, as well as training, sharing of best practices and whistle-blower protection. As an example, it mentioned the codes of conduct adhered to by its Export Credit Agency and its Export Credit Corporation, which reflected zero tolerance for corruption. All the employees of these institutions had an obligation to follow the codes of conduct and to report any actual or suspected breach or non-fulfilment of the obligations against corruption. They were also bound by the Code on Gifts, Rewards and other Benefits in Business of the Swedish Anti-Corruption Institute. The Export Credit Agency and the Export Credit Corporation also supported the 10 principles of the United Nations Global Compact, which includes standards governing corruption, human rights, labour and the environment. 44. Portugal noted that it was necessary for companies to ensure that their practices and services did not contribute to human rights violations. The anti-corruption campaign of the Portuguese Association of Business Ethics and Global Compact Network Portugal promoted the spread of the values of integrity, probity, transparency and responsibility. The campaign was carried out in the framework of the United Nations Global Compact. 45. The Centre of Analysis and Research in Human Rights and the International Network of Human Rights recommended the establishment of a coordination mechanism between the private sector and civil society, composed of actors from both sectors, to enhance cooperation in promoting and protecting human rights in a common strategy to combat corruption. They also recommended the development of national action plans on business and human rights with the aim of ensuring respect for human rights and freedom from corruption. 46. The National Human Rights Commission of Mexico highlighted the importance of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. It highlighted a number of challenges, such as lack of transparency in public procurement; the lack of clarity in 14 General comment No. 24 (2017) on State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities, para. 18. 9