A/HRC/44/56 rights, their lands and the environment, in particular indigenous leaders and indigenous women, as well as the increased stigmatization, persecution and criminalization of indigenous peoples. In that context, she emphasized the importance of access to justice for victims and of the third pillar of the Guiding Principles, ensuring access to an effective remedy. The representative called for broader consultation with regards to the international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises, and its availability in all United Nations languages. She welcomed the presentation of the report of the Woking Group to the Human Rights Council on the gender dimension of the Guiding Principles (A/HRC/41/43). 24. A representative of a multinational company stated that it was important for stakeholders to participate meaningfully in due diligence processes so as to ensure a proper dialogue and meaningful exchanges between businesses and communities affected by their operations with the view to identify early on, and to better understand, the potential human rights impacts and risks of projects on the environment and on people. 25. A trade union representative welcomed the increasing number of States that had adopted or were considering adopting mandatory human rights due diligence measures as part of a smart mix of policy tools to incentivize companies to respect human rights and adopt sustainable business practices. The importance of holding corporations accountable for adverse human rights impacts was highlighted. The representative welcomed the focus placed by the Forum on the growing risks to human rights arising from the climate crisis and from the use of new technologies in the future of work and, in this context, called for ensuring labour protection and rights, including the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. 26. Reflecting on the experiences of several multi-stakeholder initiatives in the area of business and human rights, one speaker welcomed the major focus on the first pillar of the Guiding Principles (the State duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business enterprises, through appropriate policies, regulation, and adjudication) and the call upon States to meet their obligation in that respect. He noted as positive the increase in the number of sessions focusing, among other things, on human rights challenges and technology, the attention paid to benchmarking as a tool for strengthening corporate accountability and the greater emphasis placed on the role of investors. He expressed concern that evidence of effective human rights due diligence remained the exception, while due diligence as a “box-ticking” exercise remained the norm. While recognizing the timely focus on the need for States to step up action to act against businessrelated human rights abuses, the representative underscored the need to scrutinize government performance on human rights generally, stressing the alarming trend of increasing threats against human rights defenders worldwide and a shrinking civic space. 27. A representative of a business network challenged the frequent reference made during the eighth session of the Forum to the call for Governments to adopt a smart mix of measures to promote business respect for human rights. He called not just for a smart mix but also for a smarter mix of regulatory and voluntary measures to increase implementation of human rights in practice. 28. Civil society representatives reiterated the need for Governments to move from paper to practice and the importance of finding sustainable and effective measures to ensure meaningful consultation with civil society and affected communities. They stressed that taking better protection measures for human defenders and indigenous communities, as well as effective remedies and guarantees of non-repetition, remained a widespread challenge. More space needed to be made available for civil society organizations and indigenous peoples in international organizations and forums, including within the United Nations. 29. In their closing remarks, members of the Working Group reflected on some key takeaways, which are summarized in section VI below. 30. 12 The following sections provide a brief overview of the sessions held by the Forum.12 For more information on the specific sessions, see www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Business/Forum/ Pages/2019ForumBHR.aspx. 7