A/HRC/34/52 protection. This commitment to action is meaningful only if it is accompanied by objective assessments. That is why, in his view, it was essential to spend time reflecting on what has been implemented in order to analyse and assess the impact of all the work that he and his team have carried out over nearly three years. To that end, this report takes stock of the progress made and the challenges that lie ahead. It also identifies those areas in which, in view of the possible renewal of his mandate, the Special Rapporteur intends to become more involved so that his work remains relevant and responds as effectively as possible to defenders’ expectations. This report should be seen not as an exhaustive exercise, but as a mirror held up to the action plan established in October 2014 (A/69/259). 8. Through this report, the Special Rapporteur has also sought to give a voice to those who, whether individually or through their organizations, worked with him within the framework of his mandate and made it possible to implement his road map. II. The Special Rapporteur’s mission and working methods 9. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur was established in 2000 by the Human Rights Commission to support the implementation of the 1998 Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Declaration on Human Rights Defenders). Its main goals are to document and analyse the situation of defenders around the world, to make specific recommendations to better protect them and to enforce the provisions of the Declaration. To achieve these goals, the Special Rapporteur has a number of options at his disposal, ranging from country visits to communications on individual cases and participation in many public activities of either an academic or an institutional nature. 10. In carrying out the initiatives announced at the outset of his mandate, the Special Rapporteur received valuable support from a small team within the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. That team helped him, on a daily basis, to reply to numerous invitations to events and requests to assist defenders at risk. They also assisted in analysing the legal and administrative frameworks that hinder and sometimes even criminalize the work of human rights defenders and helped to arrange many meetings with States and defenders who travelled to Geneva during the sessions of the Human Rights Council. 11. Since March 2015, thanks to the support of the international community, the Special Rapporteur has also been assisted by a Paris-based colleague to enhance the accessibility and visibility of the mandate, in accordance with the commitment made by the Special Rapporteur when that mandate began. More information on the various initiatives and tools developed in this regard is provided below. III. Projects undertaken between 2014 and 2017: implementation and outlook A. Detailed analysis of trends and challenges 12. In accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 16/5 (A/HRC/RES/16/5), in which the Council requested the Special Rapporteur to study trends, developments and challenges in relation to the exercise of human rights, the Special Rapporteur started his mandate by organizing a series of regional consultations to enable defenders to share their experiences, to help him to better understand the types of threats that they face and to 4 GE.17-00986