A/HRC/44/56 The key message from the session, which was led by the Working Group, was that there was a need for State-owned enterprises in all regions to step up and lead by example. D. Multi-stakeholder initiatives 48. One session was dedicated to multi-stakeholder initiatives (formal or informal collaborations among Governments, businesses, investors and civil society organizations) aiming to define and monitor the responsibility to respect and protect human rights and to provide remedy for any adverse impacts on human rights. The participants in the session discussed the need for multi-stakeholder initiatives to meet certain conditions in order to have a positive impact, including consensus-building and identification of common ground and balance of power within the initiatives. Concern was raised regarding the fact that many of these initiatives had been developed before the adoption of the Guiding Principles. Consequently, the initiatives should be revised to better reflect the responsibility of businesses under the Guiding Principles. 49. The increase in the number of private business initiatives to prevent, address and account for negative impacts was discussed in a session on that topic, at which participants emphasized that such initiatives should not replace the State duty to protect human rights. Furthermore, it was stressed that businesses should not be the only driving force behind such initiatives, to prevent them from seeking to serve their own interests and avoid “audit cheating”, understood as audits managed by top managerial officials with poor human rights knowledge. Data to assess the positive impacts of corporate social responsibility initiatives, including multi-stakeholder initiatives, and ethical trade certificates remains insufficient or inexistent. E. Regional dialogues 50. The Working Group convened specific sessions on facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogue on challenges, lessons learned and ways forward to achieve progress in each of the following regions: Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Europe and other States. Subregional dialogues focused on the Middle East and the Pacific Islands were also held. 51. In the regional dialogue on Eastern Europe, participants discussed initiatives taken by States, civil society actors and businesses to enhance protection against business-related human rights abuses and to strengthen accountability and access to effective remedies. Drawing on the experiences of those countries in the region that had developed a national action plan on business and human rights and of those in the process of developing one, the session provided an opportunity to discuss lessons learned from these initiatives, as well as from inter-State cooperation and peer-learning efforts. Participants discussed the preconditions for achieving an environment conducive to business respect for human rights, such as: strong institutions and the rule of law; the protection of civic space; a strong regulatory framework; and good practices from the development of inclusive national baseline assessments as a precondition for effective and inclusive national action plans. They also discussed the importance of integrating human rights into economic diplomacy communities and State-owned enterprises and public procurement as areas in which the State had to lead by example. 52. Participants in the subregional dialogue on the Middle East discussed the business and human rights dimension of some of the specific challenges businesses faced in respecting human rights in the subregion, including in the context of refugee crises and migration, gender equality and discrimination. Opportunities for engagement and progress with States, businesses, civil society organizations and other stakeholders working together were identified, including for strengthening trade unions, labour and civil rights protections, transparency and access to remedy. The development of national action plans was considered a first step to improve business respect for human rights, and youth were recognized as a driving force in this area. 53. Participants in the subregional dialogue on the Pacific Islands highlighted the business and human rights dimension of climate change and the negative impacts of the exploitation of natural resources, including fishing, deforestation, mining and tourism, on 11