A/HRC/39/41 79. Intimidation and reprisals affect not only the individuals and groups directly impacted, but are alarming also for the message they send to other actors and individuals, whether from government or civil society, who wish to engage with the United Nations and express their views freely. The United Nations is regrettably seeing evidence of self-censorship in all regions with regard to engagement with its institutions at the local, national, regional and international levels. The impact of fear of reprisals is not only visible in the field, where United Nations personnel often encounter people too afraid to speak with them, but also at headquarters in New York and Geneva. 80. Field presences have also reported disturbing trends in acts of intimidation and reprisals that inhibit their work. In conflict settings, a fear of reprisals poses an obstacle for the United Nations to fulfil its mandate to deliver humanitarian assistance and protect civilians. For example, at the community level, colleagues have reported arriving at a location only to find the local population either unwilling to speak or having absented themselves from the scheduled meeting so as not to be seen to be providing information to the United Nations. It is not only community members who are being targeted, but also their legal representatives, intermediaries, witnesses and interpreters. In the development context, a hostile environment for community members in many countries who engage on land and resource-related projects is frequently reported. Indigenous peoples, in particular, continue to face reprisals as they seek to participate in development processes. 81. It is also observable from cases that have been reported to the United Nations that women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons are exposed to gender- or sexual orientation-specific barriers, threats and violence. Women cooperating with the United Nations have reported threats of rape and being subjected to online smear campaigns. At least one case of sexual assault in detention was reported in the last year. Women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons have also reported being subjected to physical searches and humiliating and degrading treatment. The United Nations is aware that such incidents are underreported owing to gender-specific barriers to coming forward. Many women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons facing reprisals for their advocacy report being ostracized in their communities and their families threatened. The United Nations must do more to ensure that their experiences are documented, disaggregated and properly analysed, with a view to ensuring that they are not exposed to additional risks. 82. The range of intimidation and reprisals continues to be broad and often disguised in legal, political and administrative hurdles. Beyond measures such as travel bans, arbitrary arrest and detention, surveillance and defamation campaigns, initiatives such as budget cuts and selectively applied laws or new legislation that restrict the operations of organizations that are likely to cooperate with the United Nations are being seen. Measures undermining the legal legitimacy of organizations or the ability to acquire and maintain funding, especially funding from foreign donors, undermine their capacity to engage with the United Nations. Such measures can also deter organizations from engaging with the United Nations and contribute to the shrinking of civic space. 83. There is a disturbing trend in the use of national security arguments and counter-terrorism strategies by States as justification for blocking access by communities and civil society organizations to the United Nations. In the last year, a number of NGOs and human rights defenders, activists and experts have been labelled as “terrorists” by their Governments. Reported cases include individuals or organizations being officially charged with terrorism, blamed for cooperation with foreign entities, or accused of damaging the reputation or security of the State. 84. States have frequently invoked counter-terrorism as the reason an organization or individual should be denied access to participation at the United Nations. The real global threat of terrorism notwithstanding, this issue must be tackled without compromising respect for human rights, as human rights and national sovereignty go hand in hand, without contradiction. As I have emphasized before, terrorism is 15