A/HRC/39/41 fundamentally the denial and destruction of human rights and the fight against terrorism will never succeed by perpetuating the same denial and destruction. When we protect human rights, we are tackling the root causes of terrorism. 30 Counterterrorism strategies cannot legitimize the blocking of access to the United Nations for certain individuals and organizations, purely on the basis of allegations of links to terrorism. 85. The majority of cases described in the present report demonstrate that acts of intimidation and reprisal are usually perpetrated by State officials, or at the very least are condoned by the State. At the same time, violations by non-State actors must be taken seriously. I reiterate that States must end such acts, investigate all allegations, provide effective remedies and adopt and implement measures to prevent reoccurrence. I call on all States to follow up on the cases included in the present and previous reports and provide substantive responses where they remain outstanding. Private citizens, corporate actors and non-State groups must be held accountable as well. 86. The United Nations is making efforts to improve its system-wide response, but more needs to be done. I call on all United Nations entities to be vigilant in the blocking of access to their partners and to report such cases immediately. The United Nations must strengthen the collection of information on acts of intimidation and reprisal by encouraging all parts of the system to share information more regularly on such cases and to take appropriate measures. Further, I encourage all stakeholders to report allegations of intimidation and reprisals for cooperating with the United Nations on human rights, as they occur, to ensure follow-up and action. Such actions in all parts of the system help bring further attention to such cases and encourage positive action by Governments. 87. As I stressed in my previous report (A/HRC/36/31), any act of intimidation or reprisal against individuals or groups seeking to cooperate or having cooperated with the United Nations in the field of human rights is absolutely unacceptable. Such acts run contrary to the very principles of the United Nations and must end. The world owes it to those brave people standing up for human rights, who have responded to requests to provide information to and engage with the United Nations, to ensure their right to participate is respected. Punishing individuals for cooperating with the United Nations is a shameful practice that everyone must do more to stamp out. 30 16 See speech given by the Secretary-General at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, on “Counter-terrorism and human rights: winning the fight while upholding our values” (16 November 2017).

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