A/HRC/37/39 had contacted 64 of the 206 companies involved in 33 different situations concerning the listed activities.6 20. In the letters addressed to the companies concerned, OHCHR informed them of the listed activities that they appeared to be engaged in (based on the totality of information reviewed by OHCHR), and set out the basic facts of the companies’ involvement in the listed activity or activities. Companies were requested to respond in writing within 60 days for an initial response, providing any clarification or update of the information. Companies were informed that they could request that the substance of their written responses be kept confidential; a number of companies made such a request. 21. OHCHR was also contacted by a number of companies that had not received letters from the Office, but had either seen news of the database in the media or had been informed by their governmental authorities of their inclusion in the notes verbales addressed to Member States on 11 July 2017. 22. Responses from companies included those that (a) objected to the mandate of OHCHR and declined to provide a substantive response to the information presented; (b) rejected the information presented and objected to being included in the database; (c) confirmed the information presented concerning their involvement in one or more of the listed activities, and provided explanations; (d) provided updated information that indicated they were no longer engaged in one or more of the listed activities; and (e) provided additional information and clarifications that will require further discussion and analysis before a determination can be made. OHCHR is considering the responses received to date, and offers preliminary observations to the most common explanations put forth by companies for their involvement in the listed activities (see paras. 50-60 below). Where companies declined to provide a substantive response or failed to respond entirely, this will not prevent a determination as to their involvement in listed activities from being made. 6 6 Not all parent companies or other ownership structures were contacted. For instance, if a company was acquired by a hedge fund or private investment firm, these were not included for reasons of practicality, given the lack of publicly available information concerning their portfolios.