A/HRC/39/41 organizations in a fair and transparent manner. At a time when space for civil society is shrinking in various spheres, it is essential that the United Nations encourage engagement with civil society. V. Information received on cases of intimidation and reprisal for cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights A. General comment 25. The present report includes cases based on information gathered from 1 June 2017 to 31 May 2018 and, in accordance with Human Rights Council resolutions 12/2 and 24/24, contains information on acts of intimidation or reprisal against those who: (a) Seek to cooperate, or have cooperated with, the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights, or who have provided testimony or information to them; (b) Avail or have availed themselves of procedures established under the auspices of the United Nations for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and all those who have provided legal or other assistance to them for that purpose; (c) Submit or have submitted communications under procedures established by United Nations human rights instruments and all those who have provided legal or other assistance to them for that purpose; (d) Are relatives of victims of human rights violations or of those who have provided legal or other assistance to victims. 26. The information received has been verified and corroborated by primary and other sources to the extent possible. Reference is made to various United Nations publications if the cases included in the present report have been made public. Responses provided by Governments by 31 July 2018 to actions taken by various United Nations actors on cases are also included. Efforts have also been made to follow up on cases included in previous reports when there were new developments in the reporting period (see annex II). 27. The present report and annexes do not attempt to provide an exhaustive list of cases. In preparing it, the principle of “do no harm” and the consent of the alleged victims to be named were strictly adhered to and a risk assessment made for each case received and deemed credible. As a result, it was decided not to include cases where the risk to the security and well-being of the individuals concerned, or their family members, was deemed too high. Furthermore, a number of cases brought to my attention have been addressed confidentially and may not figure in the report. 28. Further information about the following situations and cases is available at annex I. Where there are new developments during the reporting period on ongoing cases mentioned in previous reports, the information is found at annex II. “Special procedures mandate holders” refers to the special procedures mandate holders of the Human Rights Council. All special procedures communications referred to in the present report can be now found online by conducting a search using the case reference numbers that are provided in parentheses throughout the report. 15 Government replies to special procedures communications may also be found using this method. 15 See www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/Pages/CommunicationsreportsSP.aspx. 7