A/HRC/39/41 B. Summary of cases Bahrain 29. Various United Nations actors have expressed grave concern about an ongoing trend of harassment and intimidation against Bahraini civil society representatives seeking to cooperate with the United Nations, the sweeping imposition of travel bans on around 20 individuals and the arrest, detention, sexual assault and torture and other forms of illtreatment of targeted individuals (BHR 8/2017, BHR 9/2017 and BHR 13/2017).16 Longstanding travel bans remained in effect during successive sessions of the Human Rights Council, preventing many civil society representatives from participating between June 2017 and June 2018. A number of individuals have also reported threats of violence and psychological intimidation because of their past engagement with the Council, including threats of physical violence, public defamation and rape, to discourage them from speaking out again. The present report notes that various human rights defenders have reportedly faced criminal and terrorism-related charges, including family members of Mr. Sayed Ahmed Al-Wadaei, Ms. Ebtesam Al-Alsaegh, and Mr. Nabeel Rajab (see annexes I and II). 30. The Assistant Secretary-General addressed those allegations in writing on 15 July 2017 and 29 May 2018. On 25 June 2018 the Government responded. Cameroon 31. On 26 October 2017, special procedures mandate holders expressed concern about the increasingly threatening nature of the physical attacks on and intimidation and harassment of Ms. Maximilienne Ngo Mbe, of Central Africa Human Rights Defenders Network and Ms. Alice Nkom also of the Network and of an association for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, following their participation in the review of Cameroon by the Human Rights Committee in Geneva (CMR 5/2017). On 17 July 2018 the Government responded to the allegations. China 32. On 18 June 2018, in his opening statement to the thirty-eighth session of the Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted the continuing efforts of China to prevent independent members of civil society from engaging with United Nations human rights mechanisms, including treaty body reviews, the universal periodic review of the Human Rights Council and many special procedures mandate holders, and encouraged the authorities to enable all actors to contribute to all the international human rights mechanisms. The present report notes that various activists, human rights defenders and lawyers have reportedly been subjected to travel bans, surveillance, detention, including being held incommunicado, ill-treatment and torture for their efforts to engage with the United Nations (see annexes I and II). On 31 July 2018 the Government responded to the allegations. Colombia 33. On 1 February 2018, special procedures mandate holders addressed allegations of death threats by paramilitary groups against Mr. Germán Graciano Posso, a member of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó following his participation in the United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva in 2017 (COL 1/2018). Cuba 34. On 11 May 2018, the spokesperson for the High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that OHCHR had received worrying reports that officials in Cuba had prevented human rights defenders and civil society representatives from boarding flights to travel to meetings abroad, including United Nations meetings, on the pretext of requiring more 16 8 See also OHCHR, “Bahrain must end worsening human rights clampdown, UN experts say” (16 June 2017).