A/HRC/35/32 departments responsible for the supervision and regulation of such enterprises, as well as other corporate enterprises that form part of their supply and value chains and international organizations that run programmes aimed at smaller enterprises — could also make a significant contribution in addressing the awareness gap. However, an initial challenge remains in the level of awareness of the Guiding Principles in government departments, especially those that focus on economic growth, as those governmental institutions tend to see their role as supporting small and medium-sized enterprises to deliver economic outcomes with rather little interest in social responsibility. Thus, government action and efforts by international organizations are particularly needed to tackle this challenge, which essentially is captured in Principle 8, namely, that States should ensure that governmental departments, agencies and other State-based institutions that shape business practices are aware of and observe the State’s human rights obligations when fulfilling their respective mandates, including by providing them with relevant information, training and support. 82 68. Larger transnational corporations, which are most often the “lead” business enterprises in the supply chains in which many small and medium-sized enterprises operate, also have an important role in sharing knowledge and lessons concerning the implementation of the Guiding Principles (although most larger business enterprises are also still at an early stage of the journey to implement the Guiding Principles), and to incentivize compliance with the Guiding Principles through supplier codes of conduct and contractual clauses. 69. In essence, there is an urgent need for strategic leadership, both from governmental institutions and agencies and from within the business community, in order to reach scale in the implementation by small and medium-sized enterprises of the Guiding Principles. In that regard, it is important to consider that these enterprises are not just a scaled-down version of a large firm83 and take into account the realities they face, which vary greatly across countries and sectors. An effective strategy has to take account of their handicaps, including their resource poverty, limited market share, predominantly informal economy actor (in many, but not all jurisdictions), and relationships with other entities. 70. By developing national action plans, Governments have an opportunity to raise awareness about the human rights responsibilities of small and medium-sized enterprises in a national context and to clarify that the Guiding Principles apply to all enterprises. 71. More accessible and user-friendly information and practical tools will be a good starting point for the essential awareness-raising on human rights responsibilities that needs to happen in virtually all economies. This should be complemented by continuing learning opportunities including training workshops — peer learning programmes that apply the “how-to” approach. Specific programmes on the nature and expectations of international standards for responsible business and sustainable development need to integrate the Guiding Principles. B. Recommendations 72. In the present report, the Working Group suggests a number of targeted recommendations for States and for other stakeholders, including small and mediumsized enterprises. It welcomes feedback from States and other stakeholders on the report and on the recommendations below. 73. The Working Group recommends that States: (a) Recognize that as part of their duty to protect human rights from business-related human rights abuse, they will take steps to raise awareness about the implications of the Guiding Principles for small and medium-sized enterprises and 82 83 18 See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf. See “A Small Business Is Not a Little Big Business” (footnote 12 above).