A/HRC/38/49 II. Key messages from the opening plenary session 8. The Forum was opened by OHCHR and the Working Group. In their opening remarks, they underlined the fact that the growing interest in the Forum reflected the importance of the business and human rights agenda. They reiterated the importance of the theme of the 2017 Forum, noting that, while the first and second pillars of the Guiding Principles had received considerable attention since 2011, progress on pillar three — realizing access to remedy for victims of business-related human rights impacts — had been lagging. 9. Discussions were set in the broader context of the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the overarching vision of realizing dignity for all humanity. Standing up for human rights and making progress on realizing access to remedy for those adversely affected by business activity would make a real difference in advancing towards this vision. 10. The Working Group highlighted the progress made in stated commitments to translate the Guiding Principles into action: examples of national action plans and corporate policy commitments across regions; promising regulatory developments, such as the French “duty of vigilance” law; the recognition by Group of 20 (G-20) leaders of the importance of the Guiding Principles for sustainable supply chains; and the broad support from all stakeholder groups for the theme of “access to remedy” of the 2017 Forum, showing that dialogue on business and human rights had matured. 11. As part of its efforts to focus more attention on access to remedy, the Working Group had dedicated its latest report to the General Assembly to the issue of access to remedy (A/72/162). Its overall recommendation was that States should establish effective remedial mechanisms, both judicial and non-judicial, and address barriers in their access to those mechanisms; rights holders should be at the heart of the remedy process, and due attention paid to the diverse experiences of rights holders, including the central importance of adopting a gender lens; freedom of fear from victimization and attacks on human rights defenders should be addressed; and remediation efforts should be effective in both process and outcome. 12. The subsequent keynote plenary panel featured a group of prominent women leaders from different backgrounds. They addressed the topic of access to remedy further, and also an array of key issues confronting the global business and human rights agenda: (a) The need for States and businesses to demonstrate stronger leadership. Examples of State leadership included recent efforts in Indonesia to protect human rights and to fight forced labour and trafficking in the fisheries sector, and regulatory developments, such as the Modern Slavery Act in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the “duty of vigilance” law in France, which had contributed to greater corporate attention to the expectation that companies exercise human rights due diligence. At the same time, regulations are only as good as their implementation. Examples of corporate leadership included steps taken towards greater transparency in supply chains, including by taking advantage of technological solutions to gather more intelligence about risks and impacts, adopting business models that embed respect for human rights in policies and procedures, and collaborating with civil society organizations to strengthen both preventive measures and accountability; (b) The connection between corporate respect for human rights and inequality. Growing inequality is at the origin of human rights violations and abuse, and the erosion of democracy; improving conditions for workers at the bottom of the supply chain, with special attention to the situation of women, temporary workers and migrants, is critical; (c) Responsible tax practice. One key concern is that corporate “tax dodging” had a negative impact on the ability of Governments to realize economic and social rights (including the funding of schools and health services), with a disproportionate negative effect on the poorest and most vulnerable in society. Companies should align behind responsible tax practices as a critical component of efforts contributing to the achievement of sustainable development for all; 4