A/HRC/54/61 the cancellation of one grant, and one additional grant was cancelled due to security concerns for the grantee. 12. On 2 March 2023, UN-Women, in collaboration with OHCHR and the non-governmental organization (NGO) NGO Committee on the Status of Women NY, held a virtual briefing with over 200 civil society participants on preventing and addressing reprisals in the context of the sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women. In his 2022 report on women and peace and security, the Secretary-General recommended that women human rights defenders in conflict-affected countries, including those who brief the Security Council and engage in peace processes, be supported and protected.17 13. In June 2022, UN-Women launched a survey to collect information about reprisals against women civil society representatives who had been invited to brief the Security Council, in order to improve the reporting and documentation of such cases. The survey was sent to 41 women who had briefed the Council during the period in question, of whom 17 responded and 7 self-reported reprisals in connection with their briefing at the Council. Of those, three cases are included in the present report, two of them anonymously due to fear of further reprisals. 14. Between October and December 2022, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq and OHCHR partnered with the organization Iraqi Network for Social Media to provide training to 127 United Nations interlocutors on digital awareness and protection from online attacks, including on reprisals for cooperation with the United Nations. 15. The World Bank continued its efforts to track and respond to credible allegations of reprisals in the context of the projects it supports. By May 2023, the Inspection Panel had received 164 requests for inspection, which corresponded to 141 Panel cases. Of those, 56 cases (40 per cent) included allegations of reprisals, 70 cases (50 per cent) contained requests for confidentiality and 43 cases (30 per cent) included both. 18 In June 2022, the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters 16. (Aarhus Convention) elected by consensus Michel Forst as Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders, 19 pursuant to decision VII/9 establishing a rapid response mechanism for the protection of environmental defenders adopted in October 2021. 20 Mr. Forst announced that any allegations of reprisals for cooperation with his mandate would be addressed and referred to the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights.21 III. Good practices to prevent and address reprisals 17. Good practices by Member States to prevent and address intimidation and reprisals were welcomed by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 48/17, including legislative frameworks ensuring the right to access and to communicating and cooperating with international bodies; promotion and support of a safe and enabling environment for civil society to cooperate with the United Nations on human rights; and accountability and access to remedy for alleged incidents.22 18. In the context of the election of members of the Human Rights Council for the 2023–2025 term, two candidate Member States voluntarily pledged support for initiatives to prevent and counter reprisals against civil society actors who engage with the United Nations 17 18 19 20 21 22 4 S/2022/740, paras. 12, 102 and 104 (a). See Right to Be Heard: Intimidation and Reprisals in World Bank Inspection Panel Complaints (December 2021). ECE/MP.PP/2022/2, paras. 14–20. ECE/MP.PP/2021/2/Add.1, p. 75. https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-11/Vision_for_mandate.pdf. See https://www.ohchr.org/en/reprisals/good-practices-preventing-and-addressing-reprisals. GE.23-15378