On March 11, 2024, International Business Machines Corporation announced that it has received a shareholder proposal from National Center for Public Policy Research requesting Board commission and publish a third-party review within the next year (at reasonable cost, omitting proprietary information) of whether the Company?s activities and expenditures related to doing business in China align with its ESG commitments, including its Human Rights Statement of Principles. The Board of Directors should report on how it addresses the risks presented by any misaligned activities and expenditures and the Company?s plans, if any, to mitigate these risks, such as detailing its plans to shift these activities and expenditures to less repressive and hostile regimes. In addition, the board has recommended shareholders to vote against this proposal at the 2024 Annual Meeting to be held on April 30, 2024.