A/HRC/54/61 58. On 22 December 2022, the General Assembly in resolution 77/228 on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran called upon the Iranian authorities to end reprisals against individuals who cooperate or attempt to cooperate with the United Nations. 59. On 26 July 2023 the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report noting that numerous claims and accusations under Annex I were a reiteration of false claims that the Government had already addressed in response to a communication from special procedures mandate holders. The Government stated that the arrest of any individual is solely based on the commission of criminal acts as defined by the law, not due to their engagement with United Nations human rights mechanisms or pursuit of requests and questioned the anonymous reporting of allegations of reprisals noting that claims should be submitted to the Government for investigation and comments. 12. Iraq 60. During the reporting period, the Human Rights Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) documented concerns by human rights defenders, activists, and journalists about online and offline threats against them, as well as attempted or successful hacking of their social media accounts by unidentified actors, in retaliation for their work on human rights, environmental defense or accountability. This situation has contributed to an atmosphere of distress among many activists, some of whom limited their collaboration with the United Nations human rights programme for fear of increased risks from or becoming the target of those unidentified actors, as some individuals affiliated with armed groups in the country have accused the international community of inappropriate interference in national matters. Individuals targeted by such threats repeatedly informed the Human Rights Office that they chose to engage in self-censorship and reduce participation in discussions or reporting, including with/to the United Nations on sensitive or controversial subjects, including corruption, accountability, or criticism of public figures or groups. 61. Throughout the reporting period, civil society organizations and human rights defenders working in the field of protection against enforced disappearance, as well as family members of disappeared persons, generally stated that they faced threats, intimidation, harassment and extortion for reporting and following up on the cases of enforced disappearances. This includes cases that were reported to the UN as well as national authorities. 62. In its visit report and public statements, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances expressed great concern about numerous allegations of reprisals against families, relatives and representatives of the disappeared, as well as victims, human rights defenders, lawyers, civil society organizations and other individuals actively participating in the search and investigation process. In this regard, the Committee recalled that no one who participated in the conversations or contributed information to the Committee should be subject to reprisals and that States parties have a primary responsibility to prevent such acts from being committed against individuals and groups who seek to cooperate, cooperate or have cooperated with the Committee (CED/C/IRQ/VR/1 (Recommendations), paras. 89, 96–97, 100).45 13. Libya 63. During the reporting period, the Security Council46, the Secretary-General47, the High Commissioner for Human Rights 48 and the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya 49 45 46 47 48 49 30 See A/HRC/42/28 and CED/C/8. See also https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/03/iraq-unexperts-appalled-killing-disappeared-human-rights-defenders-father. S/RES/656 (2022), p. 2; S/PRST/2023/2 p. 2. S/2023/248, para. 52. https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2023/03/global-update-high-commissioneroutlines-concerns-over-40-countries; https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/04/human-rightsspotlight-libya-must-be-maintained-turk. A/HRC/50/63, para. 60; A/HRC/52/83, para. 72. GE.23-15378