A/HRC/60/62 society organization defending the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons, who was prevented from attending the Committee’s review of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in August 2024. 105. Mr. Olnar Alberto Ortiz Bolívar, a member of the Baré people and a human rights lawyer and defender, has reportedly been subjected to acts of intimidation and reprisals in connection with his participation in the twenty-third session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Viet Nam 106. Several special procedure mandate holders raised concerns about reprisals for cooperation with the United Nations in relation to the listing of Montagnards Stand for Justice as a terrorist organization and the trial, conviction and sentencing in absentia of its cofounder, Y Quynh Bdap, as part of a mass trial of 100 individuals, mostly Indigenous Montagnards, on terrorism-related charges.43 107. Annex II contains information on developments in the situations of Y Khiu Niê, Y Sĩ Êban and on the alleged impact of the arbitrary application of restrictive legislation. 108. The Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection with the present report. Yemen 109. Annex II contains information on developments in the situations of the NGO Mwatana Organization for Human Rights and its staff. State of Palestine 110. Palestinian journalists who had been arrested were reportedly threatened by Palestinian National Security Forces officers before their release. This led some journalists to refuse to share information on their detention with the United Nations for fear of reprisals. 111. Annex II contains information on developments in the situations of several Palestinian and international women’s organizations and human rights defenders. VI. Conclusions and recommendations 112. The number of reported acts of intimidation and reprisals by both State and non-State actors against individuals or groups seeking to cooperate or having cooperated with the United Nations remained high during the reporting period. Incidents were reported across all regions, involving 32 Member States – the same number as in last year’s report. Verified allegations relating to two Member States could not be included in the present report due to severe protection concerns for the victims. 113. The cases and situations reported do not reflect the actual breadth and scope of the issue. As in previous reports, some cases had to be reported anonymously due to protection concerns. Other cases were excluded, as victims and others declined any public reporting because they no longer considered anonymity as sufficient to offer adequate protection, or due to the serious risk of further reprisals. 114. The absence or decrease of reported allegations of reprisals in certain contexts is not necessarily a positive sign. Civic space and the protection of the rights and fundamental freedoms necessary to engage with the United Nations continue to be undermined. Civil society actors around the world continue to face online and offline threats and attacks, creating a chilling effect that has led to self-censorship. This makes it increasingly difficult to report and respond to reprisals. In addition, many civil society actors face significant restrictions in their activities and operations and lack access to 43 14 See communication VNM 4/2024. The Government’s reply is available at https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=38749: