A/HRC/33/19 spoken to had indicated that they feared reprisals by the Eritrean authorities, either against themselves or their family members still residing in the country (see A/HRC/32/47, para. 8). The Commission had worked to protect the identities of victims, witnesses and other sources, but as its ability to physically protect witnesses was limited, it reminded States of their primary responsibility to protect those individuals residing within their borders who had cooperated with the Commission.9 4. Kuwait 42. Reference was made in my previous report to Nawaf al-Hendal, founder of the Kuwait Watch Organization for Human Rights (see A/HRC/30/29, para. 29), in relation to allegations of reprisals for his participation in the universal periodic review of Kuwait in January 2015 and in the twenty-ninth session of the Human Rights Council, held in March 2015. By letter of 30 September 2015, the Government expressed its regret that the case summary included in the communications report of special procedures (see A/HRC/30/27, KWT 2/2015) made no mention of the lifting of the travel ban imposed on Mr. Al-Hendal, and recalled that Mr. Al-Hendal had in fact been able to attend the Council session in September 2015. The Special Rapporteurs on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and on the situation of human rights defenders, in their observations on communications reports, while welcoming the release of Mr. Al-Hendal, reminded the Government that international law provides for a right to unhindered access to and communication with international bodies on matters of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and urged it to refrain from reprisals against persons or organizations engaging with the United Nations in the field of human rights (see A/HRC/32/36/Add.3, para. 445, and A/HRC/31/55/Add.1 and Corr.1, para. 513). 5. Oman 43. The case of Said Ali Said Jadad, a human rights defender advocating for democratic reforms in Oman, who had reportedly become the subject of intimidation and reprisals after he had met with the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association during his visit to Oman in 2014, was mentioned in my previous report (see A/HRC/30/29, para. 34). In their observations on communications reports to the twentyninth and thirty-first sessions of the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteurs on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and on the situation of human rights defenders, respectively, regretted that no response had been received to the joint communication dated 29 January 2015 and urged the Government to fully cooperate with their mandates (see A/HRC/29/25/Add.3, para. 577, and A/HRC/31/55/Add.1, para. 536). At the time of finalization of the present report, no government response had been received to the above-mentioned communication. 6. United Arab Emirates 44. The case of Osama al-Najjar, who had reportedly become the subject of reprisals after meeting with the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers during her visit to the United Arab Emirates in 2014, was included in my previous two reports (see A/HRC/27/38, paras. 37-38, and A/HRC/30/29, annex, para. 6). The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, in his latest observations on communications report, again raised concern about the reported reprisals against Mr. Al-Najjar, who, after spending almost six months in pretrial detention, appeared before the State Security Court at the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi, whose decisions are 9 14 See www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoIEritrea/A_HRC_32_CRP.1_read-only.pdf, paras. 10-11.