A/HRC/32/45 20. Given the potential impacts and leverage that all of the above-mentioned enterprises have on human rights,15 the Working Group encourages stakeholders to give priority to their human rights responsibilities and those of the associated States. 21. In the same vein, it is worth recalling that guiding principle 4 is part of what the Guiding Principles call the “State-business nexus”, which also encompasses Principles 5 and 6. The State-business nexus includes situations where the State is an economic actor in its own right, when it contracts or otherwise engages with companies to provide services that may impact on human rights, or when it conducts commercial transactions (procurement) with companies. These issues are beyond the scope of the present report, but deserve more attention. II. Normative and policy framework underpinning State action in relation to State-owned enterprises A. State duty to protect against abuse by State-owned enterprises Requirement to take “additional” steps 1. 22. The Guiding Principles make it clear that, in relation to the State duty to protect, States should do more than simply treat State-owned enterprises as any other business enterprise. Guiding principle 4 requires that “States should take additional steps to protect against human rights abuses by business enterprises that are owned or controlled by the State, ... including, where appropriate, by requiring human rights due diligence”. However, the Guiding Principles do not specify what those steps should be. The Working Group makes suggestions to that effect in section III of the present report. 23. The additional steps to be taken can be understood as measures in addition to those outlined in Principles 1 to 3, which are applicable to all companies. These principles require States to take appropriate steps to prevent, investigate, punish and redress human rights abuses by businesses, as well as clearly set expectations with regard to respect for human rights and discharge their obligations through various regulatory and policy actions. 24. The international policy framework is moving towards reinforcing the call made in principle 4. In a recent recommendation, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers recommended that “Member States should apply additional measures to require business enterprises to respect human rights, including, where appropriate, by carrying out human rights due diligence, that may be integrated into existing due diligence procedures, when member States … own or control business enterprises”.16 25. However, the requirement to take additional steps does not mean that States should be any less concerned about protecting against abuses by private enterprises. The ultimate goal is to achieve full respect for human rights by all enterprises, irrespective of ownership. The requirement emphasizes that States, as owners of enterprises, should use the additional means at their disposal to protect against abuse. 15 16 Note recent positive developments in this regard with the adoption in March 2016 by Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages Norway’s Pension Fund, of “Human rights: expectations towards companies”, available at www.nbim.no/en/responsibility/risk-management/human-rights. See recommendation CM/Rec(2016)3 on human rights and business, para. 22. 7