In the debate on business and human rights, the importance of SMEs has been largely neglected. Moreover, SMEs themselves encounter much greater difficulties when participating in the debate. In order to better understand their challenges, concerns and opportunities with regards to business and human rights, as well as their need for support, the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) jointly with the SME Unit of the International Labour Office (ILO) and co-sponsored by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, launched a global SME survey.

This report summarizes the main findings from this survey. The report was used as an input to the discussions at the 5th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights on 14-16 November 2016 in Geneva.