A/HRC/30/29 6. At the twenty-seventh session of the Human Rights Council, a number of States drew attention to the issue of reprisals by referring to my report (A/HRC/27/38) and expressed their concern and condemnation of such acts. In addition, further to the roles and responsibilities of States and the United Nations system in addressing the issue of reprisals specified in several Council resolutions, the Council, in its resolution 27/18, recognized the role that national human rights institutions can play in preventing and addressing cases of reprisal as part of supporting the cooperation with the United Nations in the promotion of human rights. 7. At their 26th annual meeting, held from 23 to 27 June 2015, the Chairpersons of human rights treaty bodies reiterated their strong condemnation of intimidation and reprisals against persons seeking to engage with the treaty bodies and invited all treaty bodies that had not yet done so to establish the mandate of rapporteur on reprisals (A/69/285, paras. 107-109). In follow-up to the meeting, the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture announced on 26 February 2015 that it had appointment one of its members as a reprisals focal point. At their 27th meeting, held from 22 to 26 June 2015, the Chairpersons further developed and adopted a set of guidelines against intimidation or reprisals, the “San José Guidelines” (HRI/MC/2015/6). 8. When presenting the annual report of the special procedures to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-eighth session (A/HRC/28/41), the Chairperson of the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures stressed that the ability of individuals and groups to raise concerns with special procedures without fear of reprisals was vital to their ability to discharge their respective mandates. He stressed that reprisals are a critical challenge facing not only special procedures but the whole United Nations system. A coordinated response to these unacceptable practices should therefore come from the United Nations system as a whole. While referring to Council resolution 24/24, he reiterated the support of the special procedures for the designation of a United Nations focal point on reprisals.1 Several special procedure mandate holders individually also raised concerns over acts of intimidation and reprisal; some even reported that they had witnessed such acts being committed in person during country visits, and called upon the Council to take action on these cases (A/HRC/28/66/Add.2, para. 84 (c) and A/HRC/29/25/Add.2, paras. 13-17). In follow-up to the annual meeting of the special procedures in 2014, at which mandate holders had identified the need to develop a systematic approach to the issue of reprisals, they adopted modalities for an enhanced response to the issue at their meeting in 2015 and decided to appoint a focal point on reprisals from among Coordination Committee members. 9. In my previous report, I referred to the concerns expressed by various stakeholders over the large number of deferrals of applications of non-governmental organizations for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council by the Committee on NonGovernmental Organizations (A/HRC/27/38, para. 8). The Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association reflected similar concerns in his most recent report to the General Assembly (A/69/365, paras. 73-74 and 88 (a)). The Committee has a key role to play in ensuring that non-governmental organizations may participate in the work of the United Nations and have access to human rights mechanisms. I call on the Committee to apply the criteria for assessing non-governmental organizations in a fair and transparent manner. 10. I reiterate my strong belief that the issue of reprisals needs a consistent approach at international and regional levels. In this context, I reiterate my appreciation for the strong stance taken by the Secretary-General of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, as expressed on 26 June 2014 during the twenty-third African Union summit. The 1 4 OHCHR, “François Crépeau, the Chairperson of the Coordination Committee, presents the annual report of special procedures to the Council”, 18 March 2015.