Summary

The present report of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises on the seventh Forum on Business and Human Rights, held from 26 to 28 November 2018, provides an overview of key observations and messages emerging from the event. The title of the 2018 Forum was “Business respect for human rights – building on what works”. The main focus was the second pillar of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights – the corporate responsibility to respect human rights – and, in particular, the requirement that companies exercise human rights due diligence to prevent adverse impacts on people. The programme included more than 70 different sessions and gathered more than 2,700 participants from a range of backgrounds, including States, business, civil society, international organizations and affected groups and individuals.

Owing to the large number of sessions held during the Forum, the report does not provide a detailed summary, but rather a broad overview and key messages emerging from the discussions that took place over the three days. It should be read together with the programme, session concept notes, statements and session web recordings of the Forum.