A/HRC/32/19 6. The experiences of those seeking remedy suggest that there remain serious deficiencies in the implementation by many States of their international obligations with respect to access to remedy. The right to an effective remedy for harm is a core tenet of international human rights law. The obligations of States with respect to this right have been reflected in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework10 in terms of a “State duty to protect” against business-related human rights abuses, of which providing access to an effective remedy is an integral part.11 7. Rectifying these deficiencies — which, in many cases, are rooted in wider social, economic and legal challenges — will not be straightforward. It will require concerted and multifaceted efforts from all States, encompassing actions relating to law reform and legal development, improvements to the functioning of judicial mechanisms, law enforcement, policy development and closer international cooperation. However, this is essential work towards realizing the imperatives of accountability and remedy for business-related human rights abuses. II. Overview A. Background 8. Of the three pillars of the Guiding Principles,12 endorsed in 2011 by the Human Rights Council,13 the “Access to remedy” pillar14 has arguably received the least attention. In 2013, to help redress this imbalance, OHCHR, as part of its mandate to advance the protection and promotion of human rights globally, initiated a process aimed at helping States strengthen their implementation of this third pillar, particularly in cases of severe business-related human rights abuses. 9. In its resolution 26/22, the Human Rights Council requested the Commissioner to continue work on improving access to remedy and to report back to the Council. 15 10. In November 2014, and pursuant to that mandate from the Human Rights Council, OHCHR launched the Accountability and Remedy Project.16 An interim progress report was submitted to the Council in June 2015.17 B. Scope 11. The Accountability and Remedy Project focused on substantive legal and practical issues that have an impact upon the effectiveness of judicial mechanisms in achieving corporate accountability and access to remedy in cases of business-related human rights 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 4 See A/HRC/17/31. See note 2, above. See A/HRC/17/31. The three “pillars” of the Guiding Principles are the “State duty to protect human rights”, the “Corporate responsibility to respect human rights” and “Access to remedy”. See Human Rights Council resolution 17/4. See principles 25 to 31 of the Guiding Principles. See Human Rights Council resolution 26/22, para. 7. See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Business/Pages/OHCHRstudyondomesticlawremedies.aspx. A/HRC/29/39.