Human rights defenders who work on issues related to corporate accountability face heightened and specific risks. They are stigmatised, criminalised and attacked, not only by State actors but also by powerful non-State forces including armed groups, private security firms and businesses themselves...In the context of rapid globalisation and business expansion, informed discussion and understanding of the work of human rights defenders to promote corporate respect for human rights and accountability for corporate-related violations is becoming ever more important...This year’s UN Forum on Business and Human Rights provides an important space for this debate, particularly given the inclusion on the agenda of a panel regarding human rights defender protection. ISHR believes that these spaces for discussion, proposals and commitments are crucial. They represent a recognition of the importance of defenders and a concern for the risks they face, whilst pulling together States, businesses, UN agencies, plus the defenders themselves, to discuss solutions.