A/HRC/48/28 parties alleged to have faced harassment to submit their complaints to the relevant national mechanisms, including law enforcement and independent institutions such as the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka or the National Police Commission, for investigation and potential action. The Government reiterated its active interaction with civil society and stated that apart from routine security checks by the Security Forces no specific group in the country is monitored. 26. Syria, Arab Republic of 104. In its reports to the 44th and 45th session of the Human Rights Council, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic reported that “its investigations remain curtailed by the denial of access to the country and protection concerns in relation to interviewees” (A/HRC/44/61 para. 3; A/HRC/45/31, para. 2). It further reported “risks of reprisals and other protection concerns continued to affect the Commission’s ability to investigate detention-related human rights violations” (A/HRC/45/31, para. 20). In its report to the 46th session of the Human Rights Council the Commission also noted that “sources in areas under the control of the Government, ISIL, Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham or the Syrian Democratic Forces were reluctant to report on violations by the entities controlling the territory, owing to the risk of reprisals” (A/HRC/46/54, para. 36).63 105. In its report pursuant to its 122nd Session, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances noted that it continued to receive alarming reports concerning intimidation of and reprisals against relatives of the disappeared because of their legitimate inquiries about the fate and the whereabouts of their disappeared family members (A/HRC/WGEID/122/1, para. 144). 27. Tanzania 106. Throughout 2020 and the beginning of 2021, OHCHR received reports by civil society representatives concerning strict implementation of restrictive legislation 64 by the authorities to limit their operations and obstacles to the use of funding for human rights advocacy, 65 affecting their engagement with the UN. This contributed to an environment where people refrained from voicing dissenting views and engaged in self-censorship for fear of criminal penalties and reprisals, 66 including in engagement with the UN. For example, during the reporting period, two victims of human rights violations reported to OHCHR their unwillingness to provide consent for action by UN human rights mechanisms due to a fear of retaliation. Names and further details are withheld due to fear of reprisals. 28. Turkmenistan 107. On 17 February 2021, special procedures mandate holders addressed allegations of “allegedly meritless charges, judicial harassment and seemingly arbitrary detention” against Mr. Nurgeldi Halykov, an independent journalist, who was sentenced to four years in prison shortly after he had shared a photograph of a World Health Organization (WHO) delegation visiting Turkmenistan in July 2020 to study the COVID-19 pandemic situation (TKM 63 64 65 66 A/HRC/46/55 paras. 10, 69, and Annex III para. 7. Cybercrimes Act (2015), the Media Services Act (2016), the Political Party Act (2019), the NGO Act (2019), the Statistics Act (2019) and the Electronic and Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations (2020) and amendment to the Basic Rights and Duties Enforcement Act (2020). https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26117&LangID=E. See also TZA 2/2020, TZA 3/2020, TZA 4/2020, TZA 5/2020, TZA 6/2020 and TZA 2/2021, and Government replies: https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=35991; https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=35993. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26489; https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26226; https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26806&LangID=E. 41