A/HRC/51/47 States issued a statement on shared commitments on women peace and security,20 in which they committed themselves to prioritizing their focus on women peacebuilders and human rights defenders, ensuring a strong and diverse representation of women briefers at the Security Council and supporting their safe participation, including zero-tolerance for reprisals. 18. During the January 2022 open debate of the Security Council on “Protecting Participation – Addressing violence targeting women in peace and security processes”, 21 several Member States addressed the risks faced by women and other civil society actors when engaging with the United Nations, more specifically with the Security Council. The High Commissioner was encouraged by the efforts of some Member States to mitigate reprisals against women peacebuilders who engage with the Security Council, including tailored contingency plans in coordination with United Nations peace operations. She applauded the support of Member States for women briefers who face retribution for cooperation with the Security Council, including technical, financial and advocacy assistance. 19. UN-Women continued to reinforce its institutional readiness to address intimidation and reprisals by improving its support for and protection of civil society actors and women human rights defenders who cooperate with the Organization, including in the digital sphere, and addressed the issue in its strategic plan for 2022–2025.22 In March 2022, UN-Women developed specific guidance to ensure a safe and enabling space for civil society engagement at the annual sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women. In collaboration with OHCHR and the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, UN-Women held an information session on reprisals in the context of the sixty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York, gathering more than 300 civil society participants from more than 70 countries. 20. The Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, jointly with OHCHR, has implemented measures to ensure the safety of hundreds of young people engaging with the United Nations. The Office convened briefings on protection for individuals and groups ahead of events to discuss with young people how to ensure their safety and distributed protection protocols in multiple languages to youth participants. 21. The World Bank continues its efforts to track and respond to credible allegations. The Inspection Panel received 158 complaints concerning 133 projects, of which 80 projects (60 per cent) raised either allegations of reprisals for cooperation with the Bank or included requests for confidentiality. In December 2021, the Inspection Panel released a report23 on reprisal incidents reported and the responses adopted. 22. The Office of the Compliance Adviser/Ombudsman for the International Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency has reported threats and reprisals against those affected by its operations since 2018. From 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021, complainants raised reprisal concerns in 43 per cent of cases considered by the Office, a proportion similar to 2020. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Office has focused on strengthening its capacity and support for individuals at risk with regard to digital security. 23. In May 2021, the Inter-Agency Working Group on United Nations Sanctions considered informal guidelines to facilitate information sharing between Security Council experts and United Nations humanitarian entities and actors. In December 2021, OHCHR held a workshop on reprisals for staff of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and experts assisting sanctions committees, which was designed to build capacity to 20 21 22 23 See https://www.norway.no/contentassets/1b036f2777f74bd3b8ff473555c63a98/220404-statementof-shared-wps-commitments-2022_updated.pdf. See https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1s/k1sm0x9zxm. See https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2021/09/un-women-strategic-plan2022-2025. World Bank, Right to be Heard: Intimidation and Reprisals in World Bank Inspection Panel Complaints, Emerging Lessons Series No.7, December 2021. 5

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