A/HRC/45/36 34. In January 2020, Member States expressed support for civil society participation, while cautioning the Committee against using the review process to stymie the participation of civil society organizations that expressed different views from those of Governments (ibid., paras. 37 and 44). 35. Some States called for a futher round of consultations with non-governmental organization (NGOs) in consultative status, following the round held in 2018 (ibid., paras. 38 and 45). Others stated that the current accreditation process lacked transparency, objectivity and efficiency and expressed concern about repetitive questioning and unjustified delays to applications, disproportionately affecting NGOs working on human rights issues (ibid., para. 43). 36. Recommendations aimed at improving the Committee’s working methods were made in a letter to the Committee from the special procedures of the Human Rights Council in June 2019 (ibid., para. 43), 34 followed by a meeting with the Committee’s Chair in November 2019. In December 2019, the Assistant Secretary-General addressed concerns about reprisals in writing to the Committee’s Chair. 37. As highlighted previously, continual deferral of applications has in some cases amounted to de facto rejection, which has seemed to target organizations working on human rights issues (A/HRC/38/18, para. 20; A/HRC/39/41, para. 23; and A/HRC/42/30, para. 31). I again call on the Committee to apply the criteria for assessing organizations in a fair and transparent manner. I welcome greater participation of civil society organizations in the Committee’s work, including the organization of consultations following those in 2018, and the consideration of remote engagement where possible. VII. Information received on cases of intimidation and reprisal for cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights A. General comment 38. The present report includes cases based on information gathered from 1 June 2019 to 30 April 2020,35 and contains information on acts of intimidation or reprisal against those individuals and groups referred to in Human Rights Council resolutions 12/2 (para. 1) and 24/24 (para. 3). 39. The information received has been verified and corroborated by primary and other sources to the extent possible. Reference is made to United Nations publications if the cases are public. Responses provided by Governments are summarized, including positive action taken.36 40. The present report and annexes do not attempt to provide an exhaustive list of cases. In preparing the report, the principle of “do no harm” and the consent of the alleged victims to be named were strictly adhered to, and a risk assessment was made for each case received and deemed credible. As a result, cases were omitted when the security risk to the individuals or their family members was deemed too high. Furthermore, a number of cases brought to my attention were addressed confidentially. 41. As with previous reports, owing to the word limit, annex I contains additional information about new cases or situations presented during the reporting period that are summarized in the main report, along with Government replies received. Annex II contains information on new developments during the reporting period on ongoing cases included in 34 35 36 Available at www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/SP/CC_Chair_letter_to_NGO_Committee_ 20062019.pdf. The reporting period was shorter than planned owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, Government replies received up to 25 August 2020 have exceptionally been included. 7