2018 United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights

http://webtv.un.org/search/panel-on-voices-from-the-ground-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5971600547001/?term=&lan=english&cat=Forum%20on%20Business%20and%20Human%20Rights&sort=date&page=2

Convened by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights in collaboration with: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco-growing (ECLT), The African Coalition for Corporate Accountability (ACCA), Dhaatri Resource Centre for Women and Children's Rights, Global Witness and Rafto Foundation for Human Rights

Short description of the session:
This trailblazing session will feature a panel made up of only human rights defenders and community representatives from all regions, who will speak frankly about their stories and experiences of working to improve business respect for human rights in their countries, as well as the attacks they are under because of doing so. The session will be divided into three parts: the first part with focus on ways in which they’ve successfully defended themselves and achieved their goals this year, the second part will identify the common challenges that defenders and community representatives face in their work, and the third part will outline what they want to see between now and the next forum. We will leave enough time for interaction with the audience after each segment.
This session will offer an insight into the lives and struggles of defenders and community representatives, and outline a set of their core challenges and expectations to businesses, investors and governments, thus setting the scene for the 7th Forum on Business and Human Rights.

Session objectives:
The session will provide a “reality-check” early on in the Forum, and outline a set of core challenges and expectations by defenders and community representatives to businesses and governments, thus setting the scene for the 7th Forum on Business and Human Rights. The goal of the first part will be discuss ways that they’ve successfully defended themselves and achieved their goals so far, the objective of the second part will be to identify common challenges that defenders face in their work, and the objective of the third part will be to for defenders and community representatives to voice their expectations to the forum (governments, businesses, and investors).

Key discussion questions:

• 1st part: focuses on ways in which they’ve successfully defended themselves and achieved their goals so far
  Question(s) to speakers: What was your main achievement in your work as a defender or community representatives this year? Why do you do what you do and what keeps you going?  
  Sub-questions: What were the main things that helped you and your colleagues continue defending human rights in the context of business operations in your country over the past year (coalitions, partnerships, new approaches to work, financial support, new laws, support from community/ family/ friends, religion, etc.)
• 2nd part: focuses on challenges HRDs face in their work
  Question(s) to speakers: Who prevents you from advocating for rights in your country and how? What are the main types of attack you and your colleagues have faced in defending human rights in business operations in your country this year?
• 3rd part: focuses on what they would like to ask from the forum (govts, businesses, investors) - what do they want to see between now and the next forum
  Question(s) to be asked to speakers: What are the main things that you would like to see businesses, investors and governments do in the coming year, that would  improve the safety for and prevent attacks on defenders working for human rights in business in your country, and improve business respect for human rights? 

Format of the session:
The session will open with a question or two to the audience to get them engaged early on. It will then be divided into three parts: the first part will identify ways in which they’ve successfully defended themselves and achieved their goals so far, the second will identify challenges that defenders face in their work, and the third part will outline what they would like to ask from the forum (governments, businesses, and investors) and what do they want to see between now and the next forum. We will leave enough time for interaction with the audience after each segment, so that governments, investors and businesses, can voice their proposals and feedback, and so that defenders and community representatives that won’t get a chance to speak on the panel, will have the opportunity to also share their stories (time permitting). The role of the moderator will be to engage the audience and to summarize the challenges and the demands voiced by the defenders.
In terms of identifying and voicing expectations, the speakers and the moderator will, to the extent possible, surface and built upon existing demands, such as the Action plan from the World HRDs Summit, the joint statement from 40+ civil society organizations from 2016, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders’ reports on the topic and other relevant material.

Background to the discussion:
Business and civil society operate in and benefit from a “shared space” defined by common, fundamental elements. The rule of law and freedom of expression, association and assembly are essential to the realization of all human rights, to good governance and accountable institutions. These elements are also critical to stable, profitable and sustainable business environments in which companies thrive and economies prosper. Standards and practices have evolved over the last two decades to encourage or require companies to respect human rights. Moreover, company engagement and consultation with local communities and stakeholders is overcoming conflict and confrontation in places and ways that encourage further progress. However, this shared space is under threat, not least through a sustained and growing attack on defenders wherever businesses have failed to comply with and respect due diligence national laws, standards and national and international human rights protocols. Alarmingly, in the last decade, HRDs have increasingly come under massive attack. Since 2015, there have been over 1,300 attacks on HRDs working human rights issues related to business, including almost 400 killings. Workers were exposed to physical violence and threats in 65 countries in 2018 and trade unionists were murdered in nine countries in the first half of that year. Journalists are increasingly being imprisoned and attacked – 262 journalists were imprisoned in 2017 and 29 journalists have been killed in 2018. Civicus data indicates that only 3% of people on the planet live in countries with truly ‘open civic space’. These pressures and attacks undermine the legal and institutional frameworks upon which both business and civil society depend. For the business and human rights agenda to continue moving forward, defenders, and the civic freedoms they need to do their work, must be recognized as a vital and inescapable part of ensuring human rights respect in business operations. Defenders cannot play that role without solid guarantees of safety and security. States have primary role in ensuring corporates respect constitutional frameworks and set in place governance machinery, regulatory mechanisms, legal and policy structures and resources as well as place the upholding of human rights and well-being of all its citizens at the core of its development economy.

http://webtv.un.org/search/panel-on-human-rights-in-mining-sector-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5971635102001/?term=&lan=english&cat=Forum%20on%20Business%20and%20Human%20Rights&page=2

Background to the discussion:
In January this year, Blackrock’s Chairman and CEO, Lawrence Fink, wrote an open letter to business leaders noting that, “to sustain… performance, you must understand the societal impact of your business”. Businesses have the potential to impact society in a range of ways, negatively and positively. Implementing the UN Guiding Principles allows companies to understand and address some of these potential impacts as they relate to human rights.  
Good governance and a strong board are critical to making respect for human rights part of how business gets done, thereby advancing a range of human rights in society, while protecting and creating value for the business. As Fink noted, “a company’s ability to manage environmental, social and governance matters demonstrates the leadership and good governance that is so essential to sustainable growth.” Board engagement is essential to improved performance over the long term, in providing rigorous oversight and accountability, in developing strategy and articulating purpose and responding to questions that are increasingly important to its investors, its consumers, and the communities in which it operates.

Key questions:

• What does the board see from a governance perspective and what expertise do they bring to the table?
• What do they discuss and how do they work with their CEO and management team in and out of the boardroom to manage risks to business and risks to people, reputation and long-term value to shareholders?
• What challenges and opportunities do they see for improving performance in their sector? 

Jane Nelson, Board member of  Newmont, will offer her perspective on why this agenda matters to Newmont and how she is working with Newmont’s leadership to drive it forward, including highlighting some of the challenges they face in practice. 
Human rights have long been a concern of socially responsible investors, but there are indications that human rights are moving onto the agenda of mainstream investors. Why does this matter to investors and what do they expect to see in terms of board oversight and governance?
Tom Butler, CEO of ICMM, a CEO -led association of 27 global mining companies, will talk to the commitments ICMM member companies make on board oversight and governance and share reflections from the industry on investor engagement on social issues and human rights.

Format: 
This session will provide an opportunity for an interactive and constructive discussion where participants are able to engage directly with senior leaders on key human rights topics, with a focus on driving performance through knowing, showing and acting. It will complement the opening plenary session on the role of CEOs/ Senior management on leading from the top (see below).
The format and structure will be guided by input from the speakers and the moderator. One suggestion is that each panel member has 5 minutes for an opening pitch to the floor and then the moderator leads a discussion across the panel on 2-3 substantive issues before opening to the floor. We can gather Q&A from the floor during the session and pull them together for the moderator to select and ask.

http://webtv.un.org/search/part-i-panel-on-progress-on-the-un-guiding-principles-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5971665695001/?term=&lan=english&cat=Forum%20on%20Business%20and%20Human%20Rights&page=2

Organized by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights

Brief Description:
This Forum session led by the Working Group will provide an opportunity for States to share updates on progress in implementing the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and for all relevant stakeholders to engage in open dialogue on ways forward.

Under the 2018 Forum’s central theme “Business respect for human rights –building on what works”, the Working Group invites States to share information about:

(a) Regulatory and policy developments to provide guidance, incentives and/or requirements for business enterprises to carry out human rights due diligence in order to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their adverse human rights impacts across operations and value chains;
(b) Updates on national action plans on business and human rights (in line with Human Rights Council resolution 26/22, paragraph 4), including assessments of impact of the implementation of existing plans.

The Forum’s regional track will provide further opportunities for exchange about such initiatives and stakeholder perspectives on the ways forward.


Part I – Government leadership to drive business respect for human rights – Lessons learned from around the world and ways forward 

• Opening remarks by Dante Pesce, Chairperson of the UN Working Group on Business & Human Rights – Government action to drive business respect – what is the current state of play?
• Government panel to share experiences on new developments and commitments for moving the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights from paper to practice [broad focus: legislation, regulation, national action plans and other policy frameworks]
• Open dialogue: Government action to drive corporate human rights due diligence: what works? Lessons from regulatory and policy action 
  • Interventions by other states from the floor 
  • Interventions by other stakeholders from the floor

Background to the discussion:
In its  2018 report to the General Assembly (A/73/163), the Working Group highlights how States are performing in promoting corporate human rights due diligence. It notes that the human rights due diligence standard set out in the Guiding Principles is increasingly reflected in government policy frameworks and legislation, including mandatory disclosure of risks of modern slavery in supply chains. In the 20 national action plans on business and human rights that have been issued to date, Governments have reaffirmed the expectation that business enterprises exercise human rights due diligence.

The report also highlights gaps: A lack of government leadership in addressing governance gaps remains the biggest challenge. A fundamental issue is that host Governments are not fulfilling their duty to protect human rights, either failing to pass legislation that meets international human rights and labour standards, or failing to enforce legislation that would protect workers and affected communities.

 While some home Governments have introduced due diligence or disclosure legislation, such efforts also remain patchy or uncoordinated. Governments are not providing enough guidance on human rights due diligence and support tailored to national business audiences, including small and medium-sized enterprises. A lack of policy coherence in government practice is part of the overall picture, and Governments are not leading by example in their own roles as economic actors.
The key message to Governments is that they should use all available regulatory and policy levers, such as: policy tools and frameworks, including national action plans in order to enhance policy coherence overall; legislation, regulation and adjudication; economic incentives in “economic diplomacy” and public procurement; leadership by example in their role as economic actors; provision of guidance (including for SMEs); and promotion of multi-stakeholder dialogue.
The Forum provides an opportunity for States and other stakeholders to engage in dialogue on the emerging practices, shortcomings and solutions highlighted by the Working Group.

How to participate:
States that wish to share their experiences and perspectives are invited to pre-register by sending an email to wg-business@ohchr.org  with cc to bhrforum@ohchr.org including in the subject line:
“Forum GOVT. ACTION – [country name]”.
Although speaking time is limited (3 minutes for statements), all States will be able to submit statements to be posted on the Forum webpage. States should indicate whether they would like to speak in part I or part II, or both.
States are encouraged to participate with representatives from across relevant Government ministries, departments and agencies.

Other participants wishing to join the multi-stakeholder dialogue on lessons learned and ways forward are also invited to sign up in advance by sending an email to: wg-business@ohchr.org  with cc to bhrforum@ohchr.org including in the subject line: “2018 Forum GOVT. ACTION session – Multi-stakeholder dialogue - [name of organization]”. Interventions should be no more than 2-3 minutes in order to allow time for as many stakeholder perspectives as possible. Written statements may be submitted for posting on the Forum web page. Those signing up for the speaker list should indicate whether they wish to speak in part I or part II, or both.

http://webtv.un.org/search/part-ii-panel-on-progress-on-the-un-guiding-principles-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5971981765001/?term=&lan=english&cat=Forum%20on%20Business%20and%20Human%20Rights&page=2

Organized by UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights

Brief Description:
This Forum session led by the Working Group will provide an opportunity for States to share updates on progress in implementing the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and for all relevant stakeholders to engage in open dialogue on ways forward.

Under the 2018 Forum’s central theme “Business respect for human rights –building on what works”, the Working Group invites States to share information about:

(a) Regulatory and policy developments to provide guidance, incentives and/or requirements for business enterprises to carry out human rights due diligence in order to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their adverse human rights impacts across operations and value chains;
(b) Updates on national action plans on business and human rights (in line with Human Rights Council resolution 26/22, paragraph 4), including assessments of impact of the implementation of existing plans.

The Forum’s regional track will provide further opportunities for exchange about such initiatives and stakeholder perspectives on the ways forward.

Tentative agenda
Part II: National action plans on business and human rights - Impacts, lessons learned and ways forward

• NAPs – what has been the impact to date? A quick overview 
• Getting started, lessons learned 
• Open dialogue: translating plans to action
  • Government interventions 
  • Other stakeholders
• Wrap-up by the Working Group

Background to the discussion:

In its 2018 report to the General Assembly (A/73/163), the Working Group highlights how States are performing in promoting corporate human rights due diligence. It notes that the human rights due diligence standard set out in the Guiding Principles is increasingly reflected in government policy frameworks and legislation, including mandatory disclosure of risks of modern slavery in supply chains. In the 20 national action plans on business and human rights that have been issued to date, Governments have reaffirmed the expectation that business enterprises exercise human rights due diligence.

The report also highlights gaps: A lack of government leadership in addressing governance gaps remains the biggest challenge. A fundamental issue is that host Governments are not fulfilling their duty to protect human rights, either failing to pass legislation that meets international human rights and labour standards, passing legislation that is inconsistent, or failing to enforce legislation that would protect workers and affected communities.

 While some home Governments have introduced due diligence or disclosure legislation, such efforts also remain patchy or uncoordinated. Governments are not providing enough guidance on human rights due diligence and support tailored to national business audiences, including small and medium-sized enterprises. A lack of policy coherence in government practice is part of the overall picture, and Governments are not leading by example in their own roles as economic actors.
The key message to Governments is that they should use all available regulatory and policy levers, such as: policy tools and frameworks, including national action plans in order to enhance policy coherence overall; legislation, regulation and adjudication; economic incentives in “economic diplomacy” and public procurement; leadership by example in their role as economic actors; provision of guidance (including for SMEs); and promotion of multi-stakeholder dialogue.

The Forum provides an opportunity for States and other stakeholders to engage in dialogue on the emerging practices, shortcomings and solutions highlighted by the Working Group.

How to participate:
States that wish to share their experiences and perspectives are invited to pre-register by sending an email to wg-business@ohchr.org  with cc to bhrforum@ohchr.org including in the subject line:
“Forum GOVT. ACTION – [country name]”.
Although speaking time is limited (3 minutes for statements), all States will be able to submit statements to be posted on the Forum webpage. States should indicate whether they would like to speak in part I or part II, or both.
States are encouraged to participate with representatives from across relevant Government ministries, departments and agencies.
Other participants wishing to join the multi-stakeholder dialogue on lessons learned and ways forward are also invited to sign up in advance by sending an email to forumbhr@ohchr.org, cc: wg-business@ohchr.org  with cc to bhrforum@ohchr.org including in the subject line: “2018 Forum GOVT. ACTION session – Multi-stakeholder dialogue - [name of organization]”. Interventions should be no more than 2-3 minutes in order to allow time for as many stakeholder perspectives as possible. Written statements may be submitted for posting on the Forum web page. Those signing up for the speaker list should indicate whether they wish to speak in part I or part II, or both.

Organized by the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation and Participant Media

Short description of the session:
Join us for a special screening of THE PRICE OF FREE, followed by a conversation with Nobel Peace Laureate, Kailash Satyarthi (other panelists TBD).
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, THE PRICE OF FREE is a suspenseful yet intimate look at one man’s groundbreaking struggle to liberate every child possible from slavery. From director Derek Doneen and Oscar winning filmmaker Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth,” “He Named Me Malala”), the film follows Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and his team of leaders around the world through gripping secret raids and quests for missing children in the hopes of ending the cycle of poverty that forces them and their families into dreadful circumstances. Refusing to be daunted by the impossible, they have succeeded in rescuing over 87,000 children and created a global movement which has resulted in legislation which helps protect young children. The film was co-produced by Concordia Studio and Participant Media, and will be released by YouTube Originals.

Session objectives:

• Introduce / re-introduce Kailash Satyarthi and his movement to the audience
• Illuminate the persistence of child labor, hidden in supply chains
• Discuss the role of business in child labor and slavery in supply chains
• Describe the film’s social impact campaign and how companies in the room can screen this film for their employees, leaders and partners.

Key discussion questions:

• What can the private sector do to help solve this problem?

Background to the discussion:
The film will be launched globally on November 27th by YouTube Originals.
The Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation and Participant Media (in partnership with YouTube and Concordia Studio) will empower students, policymakers, and business leaders to take action toward a future that is child-labor free. The campaign will provide audiences across the U.S. and around the world with an opportunity to understand and reflect on how many of the products we use in our daily lives — from our coffee, to our clothes, to our mobile devices — could include the work of children. The campaign will provide pathways for audiences to invest, advocate and lead change.
Recognizing the key role that business plays in eliminating forced and child labor, Participant Media is offering the film to companies with global supply chains, so that they might screen for their employees, leadership, customers or shareholders. Companies may choose a date between October 2018 and April 2019 to screen all or a portion of the film and use the event as an opportunity to spark a conversation about improving supply chain practices. Participant Media will provide tools for hosting a successful screening event.

http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/forum-on-business-and-human-rights/watch/panel-on-human-rights-due-diligence-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5972028985001/?term=

Organized by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights in collaboration with the OECD

Short description of the session:
The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights clarify that all business enterprises have an independent responsibility to respect human rights, and that in order to do so they are required to exercise human rights due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address impacts on human rights. The introduction of this concept was one of the major contributions of the Guiding Principles.
The 2018 release of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct provided another important step forward in helping clarify what human rights due diligence involves in practical steps. As it is in full alignment with the UN Guiding Principles, these two frameworks together provide a solid foundation promoting and scaling up responsible business conduct in a coherent and effective way. Also issued in 2018, a report by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights on to the UN General Assembly further highlights key features of human rights due diligence and why it matters; gaps and challenges in current business and Government practice; emerging good practices; and how key stakeholders — States and the investment community, in particular — can contribute to the scaling-up of effective human rights due diligence.

Session objectives
This Forum session takes place against this background with a view to:

• Highlight the essential elements of human rights due diligence set out in the UN Guiding Principles and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance.
• Demonstrate the close alignment between these two frameworks.
• Engage stakeholders in a discussion on the way forward for achieving wider and comprehensive uptake of human rights due diligence in standard business practice.

The discussion will also set the stage for the 27 November plenary session involving senior leaders from international organizations charged with the task of promoting corporate responsibility and responsible business, with business respect for human rights as a bedrock.
 
Background
The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises clarify that all business enterprises have an independent responsibility to respect human rights, and that in order to do so they are required to exercise human rights due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address impacts on human rights.
Human rights due diligence is a way for enterprises to proactively manage potential and actual adverse human rights impacts with which they are involved.
It involves multiple overlapping components, including (i) embedding responsible business conduct int policies and management systems; undertaking due diligence by (ii) Identifying and assessing actual or potential adverse human rights impacts that the enterprise may cause or contribute to through its own activities, or which may be directly linked to its operations, products or services by its business relationships; (iii) Integrating findings from impact assessments across relevant company processes and taking appropriate action according to its involvement in the impact; (iv) Tracking the effectiveness of measures and processes to address adverse human rights impacts in order to know if they are working; (v) Communicating on how impacts are being addressed and showing stakeholders – in particular affected stakeholders – that there are adequate policies and processes in place; and (vi) providing and supporting remediation as appropriate.
The prevention of adverse impacts on people is the main purpose of human rights due diligence. It concerns risks to people, not risks to business. It should be ongoing, as the risks to human rights may change over time; and be informed by meaningful stakeholder engagement, in particular with affected stakeholders, human rights defenders, trade unions and grassroots organizations. Risks to human rights defenders and other critical voices need to be considered.
Since 2011, corporate human rights due diligence has become a norm of expected conduct. It has been integrated in other policy frameworks for responsible business. The recent OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, adopted by 48 OECD and non-OECD countries at Ministerial level in May 2018, provides practical guidance on due diligence, including for managing human rights risks and impacts, alongside other concerns for responsible business conduct, such as anti-bribery, environment and employment and industrial relations. This Guidance was developed in close consultation with business, workers, and civil society, as well as the International Labour Organisation, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights. As such it seeks to promote a common global understanding among governments and stakeholders on due diligence for responsible business conduct.
The human rights due diligence standard is increasingly reflected in government policy frameworks and legislation, including mandatory disclosure of risks of modern slavery in supply chains, and sector specific due diligence obligations, for example on responsible mineral supply chains. In the 20 national action plans on business and human rights that have been issued to date, Governments have reaffirmed the expectation that business enterprises exercise human rights due diligence. A growing number of investors are starting to ask enterprises how they manage their risks to human rights. Also, among business lawyers there is a growing recognition that they should advise corporate clients to exercise human rights due diligence. In the world of sports, human rights due diligence processes have become an integral part of the selection process for mega sporting events. Among business enterprises, a small but growing number of large corporations in different sectors have issued policy statements expressing their commitment to respect human rights in line with the Guiding Principles and OECD Guidance. Several such enterprises are developing practices that involve ongoing learning and innovation around the various components of human rights due diligence.
However, while a small group of early adopters are showing the way and good practices are building up, considerable efforts are still needed, as the majority of enterprises around the world remain either unaware of their responsibility, or unable or unwilling to implement human rights due diligence as required of them in order to meet their responsibility to respect human rights. The fundamental challenge going forward is to scale up the good practices that are emerging and address remaining gaps and challenges. That will require concerted efforts by all actors. Evidence of what constitute some of the strongest drivers for changing business practice suggests that governments and investors have a key role to play. For Governments in particular, addressing and closing market and governance failures is an inherent part of their duties.

Interpretation is provided in Korean

http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/forum-on-business-and-human-rights/watch/plenary-ii-building-coherence-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5972065478001/?term=

Interpretation is provided in English, French, Spanish and Korean.

Under the title “Building coherence and reaching scale on human rights due diligence – International organizations' leadership perspectives”, the plenary convenes senior leaders from the UN and international organizations working to promote responsible business conduct and sustainability.
The high-level plenary provides an opportunity for signaling alignment of international standards and action to promote corporate respect for human rights, as well as for reinforcing the message that business respect for human rights must be at the heart of corporate contributions to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
A central aim is to signal alignment on the importance of corporate human rights due diligence to enable business enterprises meet their responsibility to respect human rights.

http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/forum-on-business-and-human-rights/watch/panel-on-safeguarding-human-rights-defenders-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5972123912001/?term=

Organized by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights in collaboration with: 

• Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
• Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
• Global Witness
• International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
• International Service for Human Rights
• Peace Brigades International
• Rafto Foundation for Human Rights

Brief description of the session :

The need for enhancing protection of human rights defenders who speak up against business-related human rights impacts is a standing item on the Forum’s agenda. This session led by the UN Working Group in collaboration with NGOs is envisaged to consist of two parts:

1. The first part of the session will be dedicated to showcasing new efforts to strengthen corporate respect and support for human rights defenders. Presentations will be brief, but meant to highlight encouraging initiatives and action.
2. The second part of the session will focus on the growing trend of criminalization and legal harassment of defenders who speak up against business-related impacts and identify concrete action to be taken by governments, business and others to address it. The panel aims to identify what "human rights due diligence" is needed and what are some of the practical considerations for preventing that companies become involved in criminalization and legal harassment of defenders who engage in legitimate efforts to address potential and actual adverse impacts. This will include identifying steps to be taken by:

• home States
• host States
• companies that cause negative impacts and who are the main targets of criticism
• companies that have business relationships to those causing the abuse (typically transnational corporations and their responsibility to address impacts in their supply chain)
• investors
• companies that invest in contexts where criminalization of human rights defenders is a salient issue

Background to the discussion:

Threats to human rights defenders and to civic freedoms are increasing concerns globally. A large number of human rights defenders are under threat and attack because they raise concern about adverse human rights impacts of business operations, often in the context of large development projects that affects access to land and livelihoods. At the same time, the space for civil society actors to raise concerns about human rights impacts is shrinking, and human rights defenders face criminalization when engaging in public protest or civil dissent.
Concerns are being raised about the role of business in contributing to attacks against human rights defenders or in failing to take action against such attacks. Questions are also being raised about the role of business in helping to protect human rights defenders and civic space.
States have the primary obligation to ensure the rights and protection of human rights defenders, as set out in various human rights instruments – in particular the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders – and as reaffirmed in many UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly resolutions, including through the March 2016 resolution on the protection of human rights defenders working on economic, social and cultural rights.
The importance of human rights defenders in the context of business-related impacts on human rights is recognized by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. They highlight the key role human rights defenders can have in human rights due diligence and enabling companies to understand concerns of affected stakeholders. In particular, the Guiding Principles:

• Urge businesses to consult human rights defenders as an important expert resource as part of their human rights due diligence, as defenders have a key role as watchdogs, advocates and voice for affected stakeholders.
• Urge States to ensure that the legitimate activities of human rights defenders are not obstructed.

References

• The deadly price of fighting for human and environmental rights - Anita Ramasastry, UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights; Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; David R. Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment; Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
• Protecting and respecting those who speak up against business impacts on human rights - takeaways from the 2017 UN Forum and the way forward - UN Working Group

http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/forum-on-business-and-human-rights/watch/panel-on-rights-of-lgbti-people-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5972148544001/?term=

Organized by United Nations 

Session objectives:
This session, featuring some of the most prominent activists and corporations engaged on the human rights of LGBTI people, will discuss how to build bridges between LGBTI activists and the private sector and how to create mutual trust and accountability.

Background: 
For the past twelve months, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has engaged companies and activists on the United Nations Human Rights LGBTI Standards of Conduct for Business. To date, 200 of the World largest companies have publicly expressed support for these Standards. Yet, some in the LGBTI community and human rights practitioners sometimes express mistrust in companies’ engagement concerned that their efforts could be limited to marketing strategies which stop when “doing the right thing” gets in the way of the bottom line or that companies might be too selective in their overall human rights approach. Similarly, the anti-pink washing message was central to both Paris and London Prides this year.

Hashtag: 
#Biz4LGBTI, #UNForumBHR, #bizhumanrights

Format: 
Short video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zeeVEKaDLM), panel followed by Q&A

http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/forum-on-business-and-human-rights/watch/panel-i-developing-a-gender-lens-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5972170222001/?term=

Organized by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights

Brief description of the session: 
Against this background, this session – framed as a “gender roundtable” – will discuss major challenges faced by women in business-related contexts and explore potential solutions as well as good practices to address these challenges. The roundtable will focus on the following five thematic areas:

• Sexual harassment and sexual violence against women
• Gender sensitive human rights due diligence
• Economic inclusion and empowerment of women
• Impact of trade, investment and tax regimes on women
• Women’s experiences of accessing effective remedies and defending rights

To prepare for the gender roundtable, individuals and organizations who had submitted session proposals for the Forum related to gender issues and some other stakeholders have been invited to form a small group on each of the above five themes. Each group is expected to discuss internally and prepare a 2-page brief to inform discussion at the gender roundtable. The briefs will highlight the main challenges faced by women in the five specific thematic situations identified above as well as the potential solutions and good practices to overcome those challenges. All received briefs will be posted on the UN Working Group’s gender project webpage.

Session objectives:

1. Raise sensitivity amongst all stakeholders about the key challenges faced by women in business-related contexts.
2. Identify potential solutions as well as best practices concerning these challenges.
3. Inform the UN Working Group’s proposed gender guidance on how to “protect, respect and remedy” the rights of women in a business context in line with the UNGPs.

 
Background to the discussion:
Women (including girls) experience business-related human rights abuses in unique ways and are often affected disproportionately. Women also face multiple forms of discrimination and experience additional barriers in seeking access to effective remedies for business-related human rights abuses. Therefore, in order to effectively meet their respective human rights duties and responsibilities under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), States and business enterprises need to be sensitive to the unique experiences of women and the structural discrimination or barriers that they face.
In order to assist States and business enterprises in achieving this goal, the UN Working Group is developing gender guidance to the UNGPs. This guidance will provide practical recommendations for what it means to “protect, respect and remedy” the rights of women in a business context in line with the UNGPs. The gender guidance to the UNGPs, which will cover all three pillars, will be the theme of report of the Working Group to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2019. Further information about this project is available at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Business/Pages/GenderLens.aspx

Session format:
The gender roundtable will be organised as follows:
- Introductory remarks by the Surya Deva, Vice-Chair, UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights (5 minutes)
- Sharing of briefs developed by five thematic groups (6 minutes for each group)
- Each group will organise a “gender café” to brainstorm further issues around the given theme with other participants (45 minutes)
- Break (20 minutes)
- Reflections from gender cafés (40 minutes)
- Open discussion facilitated by the moderator (40 minutes)

http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/forum-on-business-and-human-rights/watch/panel-ii-developing-a-gender-lens-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5972479212001/?term=

Organized by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights 

Brief description of the session: 
Against this background, this session – framed as a “gender roundtable” – will discuss major challenges faced by women in business-related contexts and explore potential solutions as well as good practices to address these challenges. The roundtable will focus on the following five thematic areas:

• Sexual harassment and sexual violence against women
• Gender sensitive human rights due diligence
• Economic inclusion and empowerment of women
• Impact of trade, investment and tax regimes on women
• Women’s experiences of accessing effective remedies and defending rights

To prepare for the gender roundtable, individuals and organizations who had submitted session proposals for the Forum related to gender issues and some other stakeholders have been invited to form a small group on each of the above five themes. Each group is expected to discuss internally and prepare a 2-page brief to inform discussion at the gender roundtable. The briefs will highlight the main challenges faced by women in the five specific thematic situations identified above as well as the potential solutions and good practices to overcome those challenges. All received briefs will be posted on the UN Working Group’s gender project webpage.

Session objectives:

1. Raise sensitivity amongst all stakeholders about the key challenges faced by women in business-related contexts.
2. Identify potential solutions as well as best practices concerning these challenges.
3. Inform the UN Working Group’s proposed gender guidance on how to “protect, respect and remedy” the rights of women in a business context in line with the UNGPs.

 
Background to the discussion:
Women (including girls) experience business-related human rights abuses in unique ways and are often affected disproportionately. Women also face multiple forms of discrimination and experience additional barriers in seeking access to effective remedies for business-related human rights abuses. Therefore, in order to effectively meet their respective human rights duties and responsibilities under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), States and business enterprises need to be sensitive to the unique experiences of women and the structural discrimination or barriers that they face.
In order to assist States and business enterprises in achieving this goal, the UN Working Group is developing gender guidance to the UNGPs. This guidance will provide practical recommendations for what it means to “protect, respect and remedy” the rights of women in a business context in line with the UNGPs. The gender guidance to the UNGPs, which will cover all three pillars, will be the theme of report of the Working Group to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2019. Further information about this project is available at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Business/Pages/GenderLens.aspx

Session format:
The gender roundtable will be organised as follows:
- Introductory remarks by the Surya Deva, Vice-Chair, UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights (5 minutes)
- Sharing of briefs developed by five thematic groups (6 minutes for each group)
- Each group will organise a “gender café” to brainstorm further issues around the given theme with other participants (45 minutes)
- Break (20 minutes)
- Reflections from gender cafés (40 minutes)
- Open discussion facilitated by the moderator (40 minutes)

Organized by the Human Rights and Business Award Foundation

Short description of the session: 
At this session the first annual Human Rights and Business Award will be presented to an NGO, “for outstanding work by human rights defenders in the Global South or former Soviet Union addressing the human rights impacts of business”.  The award will be accompanied by a grant of US$50,000.  This session will not be ceremonial – instead, it will be an interactive learning and discussion opportunity, linking the particular experiences of the award recipient and the lessons learned through those experiences to the Forum’s priority issues including human rights due diligence, sector-focused challenges, and the UN Guiding Principles.

Session objectives: 

• Identification of human rights abuses that need to be addressed by civil society, business and governments – and steps that need to be taken to avoid recurrence of those abuses
• Identification of good practices by human rights defenders, business and governments
• Identification of “due diligence” good practice and opportunities
• Identification of opportunities for increased constructive direct engagement between companies and NGOs and between governments and NGOs
• Identification of opportunities for more effective implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

Key discussion questions 

• What have been your organization’s greatest challenges, and greatest successes, in addressing the human rights impacts of business in your country?  What have you learned from the experience that could be useful to other NGOs, and to businesses and governments?
• A central theme of this UN Forum is human rights due diligence by companies.  What practical advice would you give to an international company coming into your country and wanting to respect human rights, implement the UN Guiding Principles and assess the risks?
• Do you have any practical suggestions for increasing constructive direct engagement between companies and NGOs in your country?
• Your NGO has been addressing specific human rights impacts by business.  When you step back and look at the broader landscape in your country, what steps can civil society, companies and government take in the future to promote good human rights practices by business?

Discussants who will help activate the broader discussion with brief contributions include:

• Justiça nos Trilhos has just been named the recipient of the first annual Human Rights and Business Award, which will be presented at this session.
  Justiça nos Trilhos is a human rights NGO working with more than 100 communities in rural regions of Brazil to address widespread abuses by mining companies, and to defend the rights of local people including indigenous communities. The abuses include damage to health and livelihoods, displacement of communities, violence, and decimation of the cultures and lives of indigenous peoples. The human rights defenders of Justiça nos Trilhos, and the local communities they work with, have suffered persecution, surveillance and retaliatory lawsuits.
  
• Lea Rankinen of S Group, a Finnish network of companies operating in the retail and service sectors. When human rights defender Andy Hall documented forced labor by one of S Group’s suppliers in Thailand, and when that supplier filed a court case against Andy Hall, S Group first tried to convince their supplier company to have an open dialogue with stakeholders and to cooperate with external auditors, and when the supplier refused S Group stopped working with them.  But S Group went further – it considered what was the necessary level of due diligence to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, then decided to travel to Thailand to testify in support of human rights defender Andy Hall, and after he was convicted, raised his case at the European Parliament and at the United Nations.  Lea said: “Human rights defenders are the ones doing this work on the ground level...if they can’t raise questions, then how can anyone in the society?”  For further information, see “In-depth interview with Lea Rankinen of S Group: ‘If suppliers think they can sue human rights defenders who will audit or investigate them, this will jeopardize our responsible sourcing’", Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, Jan 2017.
• Anita Ramasastry, Member of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, will highlight the Working Group’s new guidance document on human rights defenders being launched soon: guidance for governments and business on action to safeguard and support human rights defenders in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/forum-on-business-and-human-rights/watch/panel-on-lessons-from-legal-developments-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5972507124001/?term=

Organized by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, Conectas Human Rights and Frank Bold

Short description of the session:
Recently, the EU and a range of countries around the world have adopted or started to consider legislation that requires businesses to either address or communicate how they address human rights impacts. This includes for example the Brazilian “dirty list” of slave labor, EU Non-financial Reporting Directive, the French Duty of Vigilance law, the UK Modern Slavery Act, and the Responsible Business Conduct bill currently discussed in the Swiss Parliament. These initiatives differ in purpose, human rights risks addressed, and type of legal obligations, but they all utilise the concept of Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD).
This session will take stock of the experience with these developments, with a focus on their outcomes, impacts on corporate accountability, and implementation by companies in order to draw lessons for further legislative developments.

Session objectives:

1. Summarise lessons from implementation of HRDD requirements by companies.
2. Clarify what are effective means of ensuring HRDD by regulation and necessary elements of such regulation.
3. Identify key information on the conduct of HRDD that should be disclosed.

Key discussion questions:

1. How are companies implementing HRDD regulations? What is feasible and what is best practice?
2. What are the lessons for designing effective legislative framework to incentivise companies to respect human rights effectively?

Format of the session:
After the initial remarks, the audience will be dived in groups and asked to agree on a reflection not longer than 1 minute that will be subsequently presented. Moderator will facilitate these reflections and quick reactions by the panel. This process will be followed by discussion with audience. At the end of the session, speakers and the moderator will summarize their main ideas.

1. Kick-off remarks (30 mins): Experience with implementation of HRDD regulations & lessons for legislative design
2. Discussions and reflections by audience in groups (15 mins)
3. Feedback from groups and discussion in plenary (30 mins)
4. Concluding remarks (10 mins)

Background to the discussion
This session will discuss experience with the implementation of three legislative strategies adopted by different countries that aim to improve corporate responsibility to respect human rights.
Brazilian regulation establishes that the Labour Ministry shall periodically disclose a list with information on the employers found using slave labour – the so-called “dirty list”. The regulation does not impose due diligence obligations. However, financial institutions, voluntarily, consider it in their decisions to extend credit, pressing companies to adopt higher supply chain monitoring and screening standards.
The EU Nonfinancial Reporting Directive (NFRD) and UK Modern Slavery Act (MSA) require certain companies to disclose information about their human rights due diligence. NFRD requires  companies to disclose their human rights policies and risks roughly in line with the definition in the UN Guiding Principles, while UK MSA requires companies to produce a statement setting out the steps they are taking to address slavery in their operations and supply chains. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre and its partners created an open central registry to host modern slavery statements. The analysis of these statements indicates that there is still a long way to go to achieve good reporting. The session will also present first findings about the quality of companies’ disclosure pursuant to the NFRD carried out by the Alliance for Corporate Transparency.
The French duty of vigilance law requires large companies to develop and disclose a plan that identifies and addresses human rights and environmental impacts including in the activities of their subsidiaries and established suppliers. The law also stipulates that this new obligation establishes a duty of care owed to the victims of violations that an adequate vigilance plan could effectively prevent or mitigate. Similar legislation is currently being considered by the Swiss Parliament in response to the successful public initiative.

http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/forum-on-business-and-human-rights/watch/panel-on-driving-better-better-due-diligence-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5972544710001/?term=

Organized by the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB)

Description:
This round-table session is part of a human rights due diligence (HRDD) track, which focuses on the roles of benchmarks, rating agencies and ESG researchers can, or are, having in driving improvements in human rights due diligence conducted by companies. Drawing on a round-table of speakers, the session will set out how different approaches are able to create impact and where further efforts need to be made. The second half of the session will focus on interaction with the audience, who will be invited to dig into the detail and challenge the speakers on their assertions.

Objectives:

• To explain how benchmarks (e.g. the CHRB), ESG Researchers and Ratings (e.g. the Modern Slavery Registry and Vigeo-Eiris) and stock markets can interact and put pressure on companies to implement the UNGPs, specifically their responsibility to implement human rights due diligence and what they are seeing.
• To understand where there are blockers to progress and where more effort should be directed, in order to maximise the impact of the current levers of power.

Key Discussion Questions:
The discussion questions are planned to be asked to some (if not all) the participants each time, to elicit a short response. The questions will also be tailored / linked to a similar question which will be posed to the audience who will be asked to vote and respond with questions of their own that will be fed to a relevant participant.

• What is your organisation’s role in pushing HRDD and what trends are you seeing? 2-minute answers only. This will be supported by audience interaction, asking the audience to vote Yes/No on whether they think companies have improved their HRDD, whether the levers of change can generate sufficient progress etc.
• Do you think more pressure should be applied to investors, or the companies they invest in, in order to drive better HRDD and outcomes for people? 2-minute answers. Again, the audience can vote for one side or the other.
• Is the current focus on the SDGs, including ranking companies by their contributions to the SDGs, likely to result in better HRDD within companies, or to distract from it? 2 minute answers. 

Format:

• Introduction, scene setting and ground rules (5 mins, including potential late start)
• Responses of Round-table Participants to key question 1 (15 mins)
• Audience interaction and 2 questions max (8 mins)
• Responses of Round-table Participants to key question 2 (10 mins)
• Audience interaction and 2 questions max (8 mins)
• Responses of Round-table Participants to key question 3 (10 mins)
• Audience interaction and 2 questions max (8 mins)
• Free questions and audience interaction (11 mins)
• Closeout (5 mins)

Background to the Discussion
Companies have a responsibility to implement the UNGPs and to conduct adequate human rights due diligence (HRDD). But in often weak legislative environments, the pressures on companies to conduct and report on their HRDD may be insufficient to ensure this actually happens. In these cases, there are multiple levers of change that can be used to create an environment where HRDD happens alongside, or in-spite of (rather than because of), regulation.
ESG research data and ratings, public benchmarks and stock exchanges all form part of the information ecosystem that is a critical component of these levers of change and without which, people can not make informed choices. They are also interconnected and are part of the wider feedback loops that connect businesses with investors, data providers, governments, civil society and humanity at large.
This session will look into the current state of play, to see what companies are doing, whether they are improving and what ways can they be pushed to improve their human rights due diligence, by looking at the roles of benchmarking, ratings, ESG research and stock exchanges.

Session organized  by the Principles for Responsible Investment.

Brief description of the session:
In 2011, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business in Human Rights (UNGPs), offering an international point of reference on how states should protect, and companies should respect, human rights. Moreover, the OECD, has integrated the UNGPs in its own policy frameworks, such as OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the OECD Responsible Business Conduct for Institutional Investors.
Investors and businesses have responsibilities to respect human rights and should act with due diligence in line with the UNGPs and the OECD guidelines. However, despite the growing awareness and commitments by both investors and businesses regarding this responsibility, a recent report by the UN Working Group on business and human rights found that the “majority of companies do not demonstrate practices that meet the requirements set by the guiding principles,” and calls on investors to “more systematically require effective human rights due diligence by the companies they invest in.”
Investors are increasingly aware and concerned about the significant potential and actual operational, legal and reputational risks companies might face when they do not take adequate steps to manage human rights risks. These could include project delays and cancellations, lawsuits and significant fines and negative press coverage and reputational damage.
Investors can play an important role by proactively engaging with companies on developing policies and processes that can prevent and mitigate adverse human rights impacts, rather than only reacting to them once they have occurred.

Session objectives:
This session will explore how investors can engage portfolio companies, as well as with rights-holders and other local stakeholders, on human rights risks to promote the uptake of human rights due diligence and access to remedy for victims of adverse impacts.

http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/forum-on-business-and-human-rights/watch/panel-on-what-works-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5972625383001/?term=

Organized by SHIFT

Description:
For years, many - within business and beyond - have deployed vast efforts and resources to embed respect for human rights in companies’ operations and value chains. But not all business actions make a difference and deliver meaningful outcomes for affected rights-holders - and even the best intended ones can have little to no effect. Some may even harm people, instead of mitigating risk.
Participants will be invited to share their own experience and viewpoints with reference to a number of responsible business interventions. We will also benefit from inputs from practitioners about innovations and insights into both purchasing practices in the apparel industry, and mining company impacts on, and relationships with, communities. 
This session will engage participants in the discipline of working with both leading and lagging indicators to evaluate business respect for human rights. Lagging indicators are about harm that has already occurred. They measure adverse outcomes–what went wrong or has improved after the fact. Leading indicators are the ‘canaries in the coal mine’ that predict harm. They enable companies to fix the causes of harm before it happens.

Objectives:
The objective of the session is to identify what the opportunities and challenges are of working with leading and lagging indicators when evaluating business respect for human rights

Key discussion questions:
With reference to a few specific business and human rights challenges, the session will explore the following questions:

• What views/insight do participants have about which actions to mitigate adverse human rights impacts make a difference to the lives of affected people?
• What can we learn from existing innovations to identify - and build an evidence base around - which actions do in fact make a difference?
• When making judgments about whether a company’s due diligence is, or is likely, to make a difference to affected people, what do participants think is most important to pay attention to?

Format:
The session will alternate between audience input/participation and contributions from practitioners about innovations and challenges in evaluating what works.

Background to the discussion:
The challenge facing all stakeholders is to do a better job at evaluating what is working and to develop and use the most meaningful information and indicators to track progress. This clearly involves moving beyond tracking inputs and activities, or focusing on high profile incidents of harm or good practice.
Without proper insights into what is working in practice, company leaders cannot allocate proper insights into what is working in practice, company leaders cannot allocate resources to the programs and policies that actually shift business behaviors and make a difference to people’s lives. Many investors feel blindfolded when trying to pick out socially responsible companies from the rest. And civil society organizations have to rely on often meaningless or superficial data, that focus on actions divorced from results, to measure human rights performance.
Most importantly, not getting a handle on what actions actually make a difference betrays the very individuals and communities that the business and human rights community purports to be focused on.

http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/forum-on-business-and-human-rights/watch/panel-on-leading-by-example-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5972671032001/?term=

Organized by the UN Working Group on business and human rights.

Brief description of the session:
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are an enduring and significant feature of the global economy. They can have major environmental, social and human rights impacts. While some SOEs lead on corporate social responsibility and human rights, others lag behind and are involved in business-related human rights abuse. This is the finding of a 2016 report by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights that addressed the role and responsibility of SOEs to embed respect for human rights in their own activities and business relationships. It was reiterated in the Working Group’s 2018 report on the state of play of corporate human rights due diligence in all sectors worldwide.
The overall picture is that Governments are not leading by example in their own roles as economic actors. This limits their capacity to push business enterprises to put human rights due diligence into practice. At the same time, some good practice examples exist. In its report on SOEs highlighted the good practices of some Governments and SOEs and called on SOEs to lead by example.

Objectives of the session:
Building on the Working Group’s SOE report, a similar session held at the 2016 Forum, and the report on due diligence in practice, this session will:

• take stock of how SOEs worldwide are currently performing in terms of implementing their responsibilities as set out in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human rights
• highlight the experiences from different regions in making human rights due diligence part of SOE practice
• discuss how to build on the emerging good practices.

Key discussion questions:
Speakers from SOEs, Governments and other stakeholders will offer their perspective on the following questions:

1. What are the lessons learned by SOEs to date in terms of making human rights due diligence part of standard practice?
2. Is it possible to identify success factors for SOEs that have taken steps toward human rights due diligence and what can other SOEs and the governments that own and control them learn from emerging good practice examples?
3. What kind of policies, models and tools are available specifically to ensure that SOEs are role models on corporate social responsibility and human rights?
4. What needs to happen, and what concrete steps should be taken, for the field to move forward, and States and SOEs to truly lead by example.

Format of the session:
The panelists will first give an overview of emerging practice to make human rights due diligence part of SOE practice from their respective perspectives and address questions 1 and 2 [5-7 minutes]. This will be followed by a Q&A with the audience.
In the second part of the session, the panelists and other participants will discuss how to build on emerging good practice and achieve progress for wider SOE practice (questions 3 and 4).

http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-council/forum-on-business-and-human-rights/watch/plenary-iii-forum-on-business-and-human-rights-2018/5972698700001

Description
The Forum will conclude with statements by key stakeholder constituencies to:

• Highlight key messages from Forum discussions on how to advance corporate respect for human rights and make human rights due diligence part of standard business practice.
• Reiterate the most critical gaps and challenges as well as the most promising innovations, emerging practices and collective action efforts.
• Hear calls for action from diverse stakeholders on the need for speeding and scaling up implementation of all three pillars of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“Protect, Respect and Remedy”).

The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights that guides and chairs the Forum will wrap up the event by sharing their reflections on key takeaways and implications for the way forward for all stakeholders, including by taking stock of progress toward their “2020 roadmap” presented at the closing of the 2017 Forum.

Key references

• Working Group report on human rights due diligence to the 2018 General Assembly / executive summary 
• Working Group’s ten key recommendations on connecting the Guiding Principles and the SDGs
• Working Group’s “2020 roadmap”