A/HRC/48/28 officials in the Specialized Criminal Prosecution Office in Sana’a, and was being actively monitored. 137. Annex II contains information on developments in the situations of Mr. Akram alShawafi and his co-workers at Watch for Human Rights and Mwatana Organization for Human Rights and members of its staff. VII. Conclusions and recommendations 138. The number of reported acts of intimidation and reprisal by 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. While this is partly the result of improved documentation and reporting, additional cases remain unreported or have been excluded from the present report due to protection concerns. Recurring allegations reinforce the assertion that repeated similar incidents can signal patterns. 139. The United Nations continues to document worrying trends, where States justify blocking access to the work of the Organization through operational and legislative measures, including by using counter-terrorism and other national security arguments. States have also used measures adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to stifle civil society. The legitimate need for emergency public health measures should not be used to hinder the access of individuals and civil society organizations to, or to punish those who cooperate with, the United Nations. The Organization has received reports of additional movement restrictions on United Nations partners, in order to prevent them from meeting with United Nations representatives, and even greater restrictions on individuals in detention. 140. I am deeply concerned that many individuals and groups exercise self-censorship and refrain from engaging with the United Nations for fear of harm or retribution. This silence must be broken. Communication and cooperation between the Organization and Governments, civil society and other partners, and the forums that it provides for exchanges, is critical to the work of the United Nations and, ultimately, to the people it serves. 141. I reiterate my call upon States to unequivocally commit to and support safe and unhindered access to, and cooperation with, the Organization, and to prevent and address all incidents of intimidation and reprisal. I am encouraged by an increased commitment shown by members of the General Assembly and the Security Council to address intimidation and reprisals, and I welcome the continued support shown by Human Rights Council members, and among other intergovernmental bodies, to prevent and respond to incidents. I encourage all Member States to take due care in ensuring the protection of all individuals. In the Security Council, as in other forums, this could include advance consideration of the risks faced by interlocutors, the preparation of tailored contingency plans and the mobilization of resources to assist those in need. 142. The cases described in the present report reflect the particular risks and challenges faced by certain groups, communities and sectors of the population. While the most commonly reported incidents concern human rights defenders, activists and journalists, affected individuals and groups include a range of actors, from victims of human rights violations, witnesses and their relatives and lawyers, to public officials, opposition parties and national human rights institutions. Furthermore, attacks against United Nations independent experts inhibit cooperation with the Organization. 143. Among the many under threat, but whose cases are underreported, are those who face gender-specific or sexual orientation-specific barriers and those protecting or claiming land and resource-related rights. Additional efforts to document cases and trends, disaggregating those data by the gender, age, minority group and indigenous status of the victim, would help to facilitate more nuanced analysis and response to the particular risks facing those groups. 19