A/HRC/44/56 I. Introduction 1. Since its first session, in 2012, the Forum on Business and Human Rights has become the world’s biggest event on business and human rights. The Forum was established by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 17/4, in which the Council also endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework (A/HRC/17/31, annex). The mandate of the Forum is to discuss trends and challenges in the implementation of the Guiding Principles; to promote dialogue and cooperation on issues linked to business and human rights, including challenges faced in particular sectors, operational environments or in relation to specific rights or groups; and to identify good practices. 2. The Forum is organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and guided and chaired by the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. The present report was prepared by the Working Group pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 35/7, in which the Council invited the Working Group to submit a report on the proceedings and thematic recommendations of the Forum to the Council for its consideration. In the report, the Working Group provides an overview of the key observations and messages emerging from the eighth session of the Forum. 3. The programme of work included three plenary sessions and more than 60 parallel sessions organized by the Working Group, OHCHR and other organizations on the basis of extensive consultations and some 300 proposals. The programme of work also included a series of brief “snapshot” presentations on current business and human rights issues. 4. On the basis of a key message formulated at the seventh session of the Forum, expressing the need for Governments to step up action and leadership, participants in the eighth session, the theme of which was “Time to act: Governments as catalysts for business respect for human rights”, put special emphasis on the need for all Governments to demonstrate progress, commitments and plans in implementing the State duty to protect and strengthen accountability. Participants took active part in multi-stakeholder discussions and addressed policy initiatives and case studies in both panel discussions and round tables. 5. As the Forum seeks to facilitate dialogue not only on trends and challenges but, equally importantly, on solutions, sessions focused on the practical implications of the “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework for a wide range of issues. The Working Group led discussions to unpack what was required for the Guiding Principles to be put into practice, especially in relation to the Working Group’s current thematic focus areas, which include broad aspects of government and business policy areas such as national action plans, the State as an economic actor (through State-owned enterprises, for example, and in the areas of trade promotion and development finance), international investment agreements, the role of national human rights institutions and human rights due diligence. The Working Group also explored cross-cutting issues such as gender, sustainable development and access to remedy, as well as the connections between business and human rights and key topics such as corruption, the work of human rights defenders and conflict. In addition, the Working Group held sessions to facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue on challenges, lessons learned and ways forward focused on each region (Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Europe and other States) and two subregions (the Middle East and the Pacific Islands). 6. The eighth session of the Forum was attended by more than 2,400 participants from over 130 States and a wide range of backgrounds (see table below). Percentage of participants, by affiliation Category of participating stakeholders Academic institutions 2 Percentage 9.6 Private sector (business enterprises, business/industry associations, consultancies, law firms, investors) 30.4 Civil society organizations, affected stakeholders, trade unions and indigenous peoples’ groups 32.0