A/HRC/43/3 F. Participation 1. Enhancing and protecting civic space and people’s participation 91. OHCHR continued to advocate for the protection and expansion of civic space and for meaningful participation throughout the world. In Ethiopia, Fiji, Kiribati, Mongolia, Somalia and Tanzania it provided technical advice on draft legislation to increase participation and protect public freedoms. In a number of States, OHCHR commented and provided advice on human rights-compliant responses to protests. 92. OHCHR facilitated an exchange of good practices related to the participation of civil society in decision-making and responses to attacks and threats against, and the killings of, human rights defenders and widely disseminated and promoted the use of the Guidelines for States on the effective implementation of the right to participate in public affairs. 25 93. Together with UN-Women, OHCHR led an initiative to improve civil society engagement with the United Nations and to strengthen the Organization’s approaches to civic space, building on good practices across the system. 94. OHCHR advocated for the protection of human rights defenders, including in Colombia, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua. In Southern Africa, OHCHR mapped civic space-related developments and held a regional consultation with defenders’ networks. 95. OHCHR continued its global campaign #IStandWithHer to promote women human rights defenders, movements and their stories, including highlighting the work of sexual and reproductive health and rights activists and women indigenous leaders. 96. OHCHR also collaborated with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the framework of the Joint Action Mechanism to Contribute to the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in the Americas. 97. OHCHR continued to address acts of intimidation and reprisals against those who cooperated with the United Nations on human rights, including through the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights. 98. OHCHR increased its attention on the challenges faced by human rights defenders and other threats to civic space posed by the use of new technologies. In that regard, it convened workshops with human rights defenders, journalists and representatives of businesses, including in Belgium, Thailand and Tunisia, to identify ways to enhance civic space online. OHCHR is also developing, with partners, tools to better document and report restrictions on online civic space and attacks against defenders on social media. 99. OHCHR provided capacity-building for 35 indigenous young people from 28 countries, and 30 fellows from 27 countries through its Indigenous and Minorities Fellowship Programmes. In addition, it provided capacity-building to 11 fellows under its programme for people of African descent. With the support of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples, OHCHR facilitated the participation of 114 indigenous representatives in key United Nations meetings on indigenous issues. 2. Digital space 100. OHCHR continued its advocacy for using international human rights law as a basis for regulations, policies and practices pertaining to the use of digital technologies. The High Commissioner engaged with senior technology executives and leaders from civil society, academia and Governments during visits to, among others, Australia and Senegal, and through speeches in the United States, advocating for a human rights-based approach in developing and using new technologies, including artificial intelligence. 101. The collaboration of OHCHR with the University of Berkeley’s Human Rights Centre contributed to United Nations investigations and monitoring in the Central African Republic and to the drafting of an International Protocol on Open Source Investigations. 25 14 Available at www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/PublicAffairs/GuidelinesRightParticipatePublic Affairs_web.pdf.