A/HRC/21/62 28. Some members of the international community raised particular concern about different human rights issues, some of which are also reflected in the recommendations addressed to the Sudan at its universal periodic review, including those described below. 1. Need for an inclusive and transparent constitutional process 29. According to the document drafted on the Government’s strategy for implementation of universal periodic review recommendations (see paragraph 15 above), the Government is already taking steps to ensure a transparent constitutional review process by holding seminars on human rights provisions of the current interim Constitution. The Independent Expert raised this issue with Government representatives as a legitimate human rights concern that needed to be addressed. Assurances were given, particularly by the Human Rights Committee of the National Assembly and the Advisory Council on Human Rights, that there was already public participation in the constitutional review process, and that a constitutional review commission would soon be established to collate the views of the public. They indicated that the constitutional review process would be transparent and inclusive, and that the Bill of Rights provisions in the interim Constitution would certainly be kept and improved upon in the new Constitution. The Council referred to the organization by the Government of a forum on public participation in constitutionmaking, in partnership with UNDP and other United Nations agencies. The proceedings of the first forum, held in Khartoum in May 2011, and the State-level recommendations made at it have been published, with the assistance of UNDP, for public dissemination. 30. In spite of the above-mentioned assurances, international partners expressed concern at, for example, the recent Government decision to prevent the Sudanese Initiative for Constitution-Making, an independent civil society organization, from conducting any further awareness-raising activities on constitutional reform. The Independent Expert notes that such interference infringes on the right to freedom of expression and the right of citizens to take part in the conduct of public affairs, as guaranteed under articles 19 and 25 respectively of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Government, however, disputed the claim, stating that the organization is still active in the Sudan. 31. While the Independent Expert commends the Government for initiating the forum on public participation in constitution-making, it is essential that civil society organizations are not prevented by the State from participating or undertaking similar initiatives. In a democratic society, such initiatives must be encouraged to enrich the debate on constitutional reform. The Independent Expert considers that granting civil society the space to contribute to the constitution review process through awareness-raising initiatives is an essential demonstration of political will on the part of the Government to ensure an inclusive and participatory process. Such broad inclusion would also ensure ongoing forms of international collaboration and attract future ones. The Independent Expert has received indications in principle from UNDP that, subject to availability of funds, it is ready to continue to support awareness-raising programmes on constitution review, and that it also hopes to see more civil society organizations contributing to the process. 2. Protection of freedom of expression and freedom of the press 32. Various international partners raised concerns in relation to the Government’s continued use of national security laws to arbitrarily close newspapers, arrest journalists and confiscate publications. This concern was indeed also reflected in some universal periodic review recommendations. In response, the Government stated in its strategy for the implementation of those recommendations (see paragraph 15 above) that it would conduct training for justice practitioners, law enforcement officers and security agents on freedom of speech and the right to expression, and amend the Press and Publication Act to give more protection to journalists and publishers. While these steps go in the right direction, no clear 8