E/C.12/GC/24 workplaces and the labour market 19 and in the housing and lending sectors. 20 Under articles 2 and 3 of the Covenant, States parties have the obligation to guarantee the enjoyment of Covenant rights to all without discrimination. 21 The requirement to eliminate formal as well as substantive forms of discrimination22 includes a duty to prohibit discrimination by nonState entities in the exercise of economic, social and cultural rights. 8. Among the groups that are often disproportionately affected by the adverse impact of business activities are women, children, indigenous peoples, particularly in relation to the development, utilization or exploitation of lands and natural resources, 23 peasants, fisherfolk and other people working in rural areas, and ethnic or religious minorities where these minorities are politically disempowered. Persons with disabilities are also often disproportionately affected by the negative impacts of business activities, in particular because they face particular barriers in accessing accountability and remedy mechanisms. As noted by the Committee on previous occasions, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants are at particular risk of facing discrimination in the enjoyment of Covenant rights due to their precarious situation, and under article 7 of the Covenant, migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, long working hours, unfair wages and dangerous and unhealthy working environments. 24 9. Certain segments of the population face a greater risk of suffering intersectional and multiple discrimination. 25 For instance, investment-linked evictions and displacements often result in physical and sexual violence against, and inadequate compensation and additional burdens related to resettlement for, women and girls. 26 In the course of such investment-linked evictions and displacements, indigenous women and girls face discrimination both due to their gender and because they identify as indigenous people. In addition, women are overrepresented in the informal economy and are less likely to enjoy labour-related and social security protections. 27 Furthermore, despite some improvement, women continue to be underrepresented in corporate decision-making processes worldwide.28 The Committee therefore recommends that States parties address the specific impacts of business activities on women and girls, including indigenous women and girls, and incorporate a gender perspective into all measures to regulate business activities that may adversely affect economic, social and cultural rights, including by consulting the Guidance on National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights. 29 States parties should also take appropriate steps, including through temporary special measures, to improve women’s representation in the labour market, including at the upper echelons of the corporate hierarchy. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 See, for example, the Committee’s general comment No. 18, paras. 13 and 14; the Committee’s general comment No. 20 (2009) on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights, para. 32; the Committee’s general comment No. 6 (1995) on the economic, social and cultural rights of older persons, para. 22; and the Committee’s general comment No. 4, para. 8 (e). See the Committee’s general comment No. 4, para. 17; and general comment No. 20, para. 11. See the Committee’s general comment No. 20, paras. 7 and 8. Ibid., paras. 8 and 11. See the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (A/RES/61/295, annex, art. 32 (2)). See E/C.12/2017/1 for the Committee’s statement on the duties of States towards refugees and migrants under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and the Committee’s general comment No. 23, para. 47 (e). See the Committee’s general comment No. 20, para. 17. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), Forced Evictions, Fact Sheet No. 25/Rev.1 (2014), p. 16. See A/HRC/26/39, paras. 48-50. See also the guidance to States on how to adopt measures to promote workers’ rights and social protection in the informal economy while encouraging a transition to the formal economy, provided in the ILO Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204). See A/HRC/26/39, paras. 57-62. By the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises (Working Group on Business and Human Rights) (November 2016). 3