A/HRC/54/61 Annex I Comprehensive information on alleged cases of reprisals and intimidation for cooperation with the United Nations on human rights 1. Afghanistan 1. The UN Security Council1, the former and current High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2 UNAMA 3 and special procedure mandate holders of the Human Rights Council 4 addressed during the reporting period the continued deterioration of civic space in Afghanistan, including the violence and human rights violations faced by human rights defenders, journalists, civil society actors and former public officials, as well as women and girls more broadly. 2. During the reporting period, UNAMA and other United Nations actors documented several instances of reprisals against individuals, including women, for their cooperation with the United Nations. Two individuals were reportedly arbitrarily detained for three weeks and five days, respectively, and two were summoned for interrogation and either intimidated or ill-treated during the questioning and then released. They were questioned for their cooperation with the United Nations, including the sharing of information with UNAMA. One of them was compelled to sign a document committing not to make complaints against the de facto authorities to the United Nations and another was threatened with death due to the cooperation with the Organization. Another individual was subjected to intimidation for cooperation of a relative with the United Nations. UNAMA also recorded other instances where individuals who have been arbitrarily detained have been questioned about their cooperation with the United Nations. 3. Since the Taliban takeover and the significant withdrawal of donor funding, UNAMA has documented the closure of many previously existing support services. As a result, there is very limited support available for individuals who have concerns for their safety linked to their cooperation with the United Nations and/or their human rights and humanitarian work. 4. During the reporting period, the de facto authorities continued to impose restrictions on the activities of media and civil society actors and violate their rights, arbitrarily detaining civil society and media workers, violently dispersing protests , and banned Afghan women from working for national and international NGOs and imposed severe restrictions on Afghan women working for the United Nations. 5 These actions have reportedly contributed to a climate of fear and intimidation, particularly among civil society and media actors, and resulted in self-censorship by individuals and groups who refrain from voicing dissent and, in some instances, limit interactions with the United Nations due to fears of retribution by the de facto authorities. 1 2 3 4 5 GE.23-15378 S/2023/151, paras. 3–4, 38, 42–43 (Feb 2023);A/77/340-S/2022/692, paras. 33, 35 (Sep 2022) A/77/636-S/2022/916 (Dec 2022) para. 37. https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2022/06/high-commissioner-updates-human-rights-councilafghanistan; https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2023/04/comment-un-high-commissioner-humanrights-volker-turk-afghanistan; https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2023/03/globalupdate-high-commissioner-outlines-concerns-over-40-countries. https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/unama_human_rights_in_afghanistan_report__june_2022_english.pdf; https://twitter.com/UNAMAnews/status/1640311776192364544?s=20. A/HRC/52/84 paras. 64–66, A/HRC/51/6 paras. 35, 78–79, 85–86 https://www.ohchr.org/en/pressreleases/2023/04/afghanistan-taliban-must-stop-targeting-afghan-women. On 24 December, the de facto authorities issued a ban on Afghan women working for national and international NGOs. On 5 April, severe restrictions were introduced for Afghan women working for the United Nations. Informal general exemptions to women working in the healthcare and education sectors have been granted, which are inconsistent and unevenly applied in different regions of Afghanistan https://twitter.com/UNAMAnews/status/1643620525359415296?s=20. 19