A/HRC/44/43/Add.1 Annex Report of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises on its visit to Georgia I. Introduction 1. Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 17/4, 26/22 and 35/7, the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, represented by two of its members, Surya Deva and Elżbieta Karska, visited Georgia from 3 to 12 April 2019, at the invitation of the Government. During the visit, the representatives of the Working Group aimed to assess the efforts made by the Government and business enterprises to prevent, mitigate and address adverse impacts of businessrelated activities on human rights, in line with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. 2. During the visit, the experts met with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs, including the Labour Conditions Inspection Department and the Labour and Employment Policy Department; the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, including the Technical and Construction Supervision Agency and Enterprise Georgia; the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia; the Human Rights Secretariat; the Ministry of Justice; the Public Defender (Ombudsperson); and the Ministry of Finance, including the Academy of the Ministry of Finance. They also met with two members of the parliament, and representatives of the National Bank of Georgia, Georgia Railways and Georgia Post. The experts also met with officials from the office of the Mayor of Tbilisi, the Acting Mayor of Chiatura, the office of the Government Administration of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara and the office of the Administration of the Governor of the Imereti region. 3. Meetings were held also with representatives of civil society organizations in Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi, business associations, members of the United Nations Global Compact Network Georgia, and individual business enterprises that made themselves available to share their experiences with the Working Group, including JSC Nenskra Hydro, Georgian Manganese, the Adjara Group and the Reach Metal Gold Group. 4. The Working Group thanks the Government for its support and assistance during the visit, and for its willingness to engage in a constructive discussion on the challenges faced and lessons learned in promoting business respect for human rights. The Working Group also thanks the United Nations country team for its support, as well as the organizations, businesses, communities and individuals with whom it met for their openness and willingness to engage in a constructive and solution-oriented dialogue. II. General context 5. Georgia has experienced significant economic growth in recent years and has made notable progress in accelerating democratic reforms and sustainable economic development. Rich in natural resources and strategically situated at a crossroads in the Caucasian region, Georgia has made significant efforts to create an attractive environment 3