A/HRC/48/28 peaceful assembly and of association, at the Youth Forum of the Economic and Social Council,21 noted the importance of addressing reprisals against youth in their engagement with the Organization. III. Cooperation with the United Nations during the COVID-19 pandemic: impact on certain groups 13. Cooperation with the United Nations continued to be significantly altered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the postponement or cancellation of in-person activities during the reporting period. The shift to online meetings continued to significantly transform the working methods of the Organization. The Director of the Non-Governmental Organizations Branch of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat noted that the digital acceleration led by the Economic and Social Council and its subsidiary bodies had led to greater participation of civil society by allowing them to engage in United Nations debates from all around the world, but she expressed concern that, despite the rapid technological advances, many non-governmental actors still lacked access to secure digital technology and cautioned that the widening digital divide could marginalize the most vulnerable, whose voices are critical at the United Nations. 22 In addition, some civil society representatives reported a lack of access to certain online United Nations meetings due to, inter alia, unequal access to registration. 14. The sixty-fifth session of the Commission on the Status of Women took place in a hybrid format.23 More than 10,000 representatives from over 850 civil society organizations accredited with consultative status by the Economic and Social Council registered online, limiting interaction between stakeholders but also affording more diverse participation, including by women and young people. Some 150 virtual side events and more than 700 virtual events held in parallel by non-governmental organizations also took place, with more than 25,000 participants. 15. Indigenous peoples’ representatives expressed concern about online hearings, which would not allow for their full and effective participation owing to multiple barriers, including the digital divide.24 The nineteenth session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues scheduled to be held in April 2020 was cancelled, whereas the twentieth session of the Forum took place in April 2021 with mostly virtual meetings.25 Despite those obstacles, the Forum noted that online consultations presented opportunities for enhanced participation and called for mitigating inequalities, such as provision of support for data packages, hardware, electricity and travel for access to more stable Internet connections.26 In 2020, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples invited the Human Rights Council to commit to reducing barriers to indigenous peoples’ online participation and to addressing cases of reprisal, including for attending sessions of the Expert Mechanism.27 16. The trend of publicly reported allegations of reprisals against women and human rights defenders highlighted in the 2020 report28 continued and, during the reporting period, concerned more than half (23) of the 45 States mentioned in the 2020 report and 21 of the 45 mentioned in the present report. Women continue to report incidents mainly in the AsiaPacific, Middle East and North African regions and the Americas. As in previous years, cases not publicly reported or kept anonymous owing to protection or other concerns continue to concern predominantly women. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 4 See https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1a/k1ajw0z74e. E/2021/32 (Part I), para. 20. See https://www.unwomen.org/en/csw/csw65-2021. A/75/255, para. 37. See https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/unpfii-sessions-2/unpfii-20thsession.html. E/2021/43, para. 34. A/HRC/46/72, paras. 11, 24 and 77. A/HRC/45/36, para. 24.