A/HRC/60/62 rights and the fight against sexual and gender-based violence in North Kivu Province, reportedly began receiving threats from members of the M23 rebel group instructing him “to stop spreading rumors about them or face the consequences,” reportedly in relation to his ongoing cooperation with UNJHRO, other components of MONUSCO and United Nations agencies funds and programs, including his reporting on human rights abuses by different armed groups. Despite changing his telephone number multiple times, the M23 allegedly continued to obtain his new contact information and escalated their threats. In October 2024, the M23 reportedly declared his organization illegal in areas under its control and ordered him to cease all activities. In November 2024, he was reportedly summoned to a meeting by the rebel group, which he suspected to be a trap and therefore did not attend. Subsequently, a group of armed men allegedly came to apprehend him. Failing to locate him, they reportedly padlocked the organization’s office and instructed neighbours to monitor and hand him over to the M23. The individual reportedly fled to Goma, where the M23 continued to send messages claiming they had located his hideout and would apprehend him. 36. In a separate incident, in April 2024, the M23 rebel group targeted a young woman human rights defender in North Kivu Province whom they knew served as the local reporter for a civil society organization (CSO) and regularly shared information on security developments with UNJHRO. In September 2024, elements of the M23 group reportedly began sending her threatening text messages and visiting her residence, warning her to remain silent or risk being killed. In November 2024, following public outcry over killings attributed to the M23 in the area where she was based, elements of the group searched for her. She subsequently went into hiding. 37. During the reporting period, UNJHRO also documented that, the M23, in the context of its rapid territorial expansion in North Kivu Province, reportedly sought to suppress reporting on human rights abuses by systematically targeting civil society activists and nongovernmental organizations working on human rights, and media outlets, allegedly pressuring them to comply or face the consequences. In one instance, a young woman human rights defender who had been sharing information on developments in her locality with UNJHRO since April 2024, was targeted by theM23 in June 2024, as the rebel group intensified its presence in her hometown. Elements of the M23 allegedly attempted to coerce her into promoting their ideology, which she reportedly resisted. In response, they reportedly issued threats against her and her family, explicitly referencing her cooperation with UNJHRO. Despite the threats, the woman reportedly continued her human rights work while maintaining a low profile. Nevertheless, the threats reportedly escalated, and M23 allegedly increased surveillance of her movements. At the end of November 2024, elements of the group reportedly attempted to abduct her during a social gathering. She reportedly escaped with the assistance of neighbours and fled to another area, where she has been in hiding since. 38. A woman human rights defender, who had briefed the Security Council on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and highlighted the pervasive rape and other forms of sexual violence and violations committed by the M23 and urged the Security Council to take action to end atrocities committed against populations in Eastern DRC, was subsequently subjected to reprisals during the reporting period. One month after the briefing, her residence was forcibly entered into by armed M23 elements, who allegedly interrogated her family members and issued threats, stating that they “would deal with her big mouth” for accusing them and Rwanda at the United Nations. 39. In June 2024, the vice-chair of a local civil society coordination structure and member of an NGO promoting the rights of women farmers, and who served as a focal point for UNJHRO, was reportedly abducted from her residence by approximately 40 armed individuals identifying themselves as members of the “Wazalendo”, a loose coalition of various local armed groups. The armed individuals allegedly looted her residence, took her to an isolated location, and subjected her to severe physical assault. During her captivity, she was accused of sharing information with the United Nations and of leasing her land for the establishment of a MONUSCO base. After two days, some members of the armed group allegedly facilitated her escape. 40. In another instance, a member of a human rights organization and focal point for UNJHRO had been sharing information on the human rights situation in his area, where the Zaire and Coopérative pour le Développement du Congo (CODECO) armed groups have 23