A/HRC/57/60 12. In her 2023 report to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders noted with concern that an increase in the participation of women peacebuilders in peace processes, in particular at the global level, had resulted in higher risks and more attacks against them, mainly online.15 13. The World Bank continued its efforts to track and respond to credible allegations of reprisals in the context of the projects it supports. By June 2024, the Inspection Panel had received 170 requests for inspection, which corresponded to 147 Panel cases. Of those, 60 cases (41 per cent) included allegations of reprisals, 72 cases (49 per cent) included requests for confidentiality and 46 cases (31 per cent) included both, representing an increase in allegations of reprisals and requests for confidentiality and reflecting the upward trend seen over the past few years, which is also reflected in the December 2021 Inspection Panel report on reprisal incidents.16 III. Policy developments and good practices 14. In March 2024, the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights sent a questionnaire to Member States on good practices to prevent and address reprisals for cooperation with the United Nations. In the area of prevention, two Member States referred to their legal framework anchored in human rights, and one of them noted specific criminal legal provisions protecting journalists from threats and attacks. The same Member State noted the adoption of a multi-year strategy to ensure an enabling environment for civil society and its related implementation plan, which included consultations with civil society on the threats and attacks they faced for their human rights work, with a focus on prevention. The same Member State referred to its recent decision to establish a council composed of civil society and State representatives to ensure an enabling environment and to serve as a forum for participation and consultation. 15. Member States also referred to good practices that promoted the cooperation of civil society with the United Nations. One Member State referred to welcoming official visits by special procedure mandate holders and another to its hosting of United Nations entities, funds and programmes. One Member State noted its cooperation with civil society to monitor the implementation of recommendations by United Nations human rights mechanisms. Another Member State reported the adoption by its armed forces of policies and guidelines that explicitly prohibited reprisals against individuals or groups that cooperated with the United Nations. 16. One Member State noted the importance of taking mitigating measures to address concerns about safety instead of excluding civil society at risk from participating in United Nations meetings, illustrating that practice in relation to a high-level event that it had co-hosted, noting that it had informally consulted relevant stakeholders, assessed the risks relating to their participation, fully informed those wishing to participate of the nature of their involvement and obtained their consent. The same Member State provided capacity-building training to civil society panellists participating in a side event, which included information on how to report acts of intimidation or reprisal during and following their engagement with the United Nations. 17. Several Member States have adopted civil society protection programmes that may also benefit those at risk for their cooperation with the United Nations. Five Member States are cooperating with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders to facilitate the granting of temporary visas for human rights defenders at risk. In addition, two Member States recently created a dedicated pathway for human rights defenders at risk to obtain visas and eight have developed comprehensive programmes to accommodate human rights defenders at risk for specific periods. 17 Another Member State has established a dedicated programme that provides a safe haven and permanent residence for human rights 15 16 17 4 A/78/131, paras. 6, 105 (c) and 106 (g), (h) and (i). See https://www.inspectionpanel.org/sites/default/files/publications/Emerging-Lessons-Series-07Intimidation-and-reprisals-in-IPN-Cases-Dec2021_0.pdf. See https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2023/human-rights-defenders, p. 43. GE.24-14259