A/HRC/48/28 stated that the Phnom Penh Municipal Court has held three public hearings on the case: on 30 December 2020, 16 February 2021, and 27 July 2021. 15. Regarding Venerable Luon Sovath, the Government gave details on the criminal judgment (No. 28/239) issued by the Siem Reap Provincial Court of First Instance on 25 March 2021 against him in absentia, an appeal of which was denied on 28 July 2021. The Government stated that the Cambodia delegation deserves the rights to question the bona fide status of any speaker when his or her identity becomes suspicious, and to offer factual accounts concerned on the ground with a view to circumventing any attempt to mislead the Human Rights Council. 4. Cameroon 16. On 15 March 2021, during the Human Rights Council, ECOSOC-accredited human rights NGO East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (“DefendDefenders”) delivered a pre-recorded video statement raising concerns about the human rights and humanitarian situation in Cameroon.14 DefendDefenders, the only NGO to raise the situation of Cameroon during the general debate under item 4, stressed that the Government as a member of the Council should not be shielded from scrutiny and urged actions by Member and Observer States should Cameroon fail to take concrete steps to improve its human rights situation. Following this statement, the Permanent Representative of Cameroon exercised the right of reply and accused DefendDefenders of “financing” and “advocating” terrorism and being responsible for “several assassinations, kidnappings, attacks and destruction of property in Cameroon.” 15 According to the Permanent Representative, DefendDefenders did not “deserve to address [the] Council” and stated that the latter “must stop giving status to this kind of NGO without audience.”16 17. On 2 August 2021, the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report refuting the allegations therein and stressing that intimidation and reprisals “have never been the approaches or working methods of Cameroonian diplomacy.” While recognizing the importance of the role of NGOs and civil society in general, the Government stated that “these actors must ensure that declarations made within the framework of UN mechanisms or other instances are based on credible and verifiable sources.” 5. Central African Republic 18. The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) reported two cases of intimidation and reprisals during the reporting period, both allegedly perpetrated by government actors or their operatives. One case involved online attacks against a civil society representative following a Security Council briefing and another case involved a civil society activist from a minority ethnic group who sought protection from MINUSCA and faced harassment following denouncement of violations by government forces and allied factions. Names and details are withheld for fear of further reprisals. In addition, OHCHR received reports of wider patterns of intimidation by armed groups, including the 3R (Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation) for providing information to MINUSCA, the Central African Armed Forces and allied factions. 6. China 19. Multiple UN actors addressed allegations of acts of intimidation and reprisals against human rights defenders and civil society organizations that cooperated, or were perceived as 14 15 16 24 Item 4, General Debate, 34th Meeting, 46th Session Human Rights Council, at https://media.un.org/en/asset/k19/k19hiwd13b (time stamp 01:17:03). Item 4, General Debate, 35th Meeting, 46th Regular Session Human Rights Council, at https://media.un.org/en/asset/k10/k10hozj9to (time stamp 00:46:56). Ibid.