A/HRC/22/34/ I. Introduction 1. On 13 September 2012, at its twenty-first session, the Human Rights Council, pursuant to Council decision 18/118, held a panel discussion on the issue of intimidation or reprisal against individuals and groups who cooperate or have cooperated with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights. In decision 18/118, the Council also requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to liaise with relevant special procedures, States and other stakeholders, including relevant United Nations bodies and agencies, with a view to ensuring their participation in the panel discussion. The Office was also requested to prepare the present summary. 2. The panel discussion provided a multi-stakeholder perspective on the issue of reprisals and intimidation, illustrating how various bodies and mechanisms witnessed reprisals and responses to such acts. Through an exchange of views and experience, the panel aimed to (a) draw the attention of the international community to the issue of alleged reprisals and intimidation against persons who seek to cooperate or have cooperated with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights; (b) share experiences and perspectives on ways to address this disturbing practice and assess responses to it; (c) contribute to the development of a consolidated and coherent approach by the Human Rights Council and the United Nations in general by discussing concrete steps that States, the United Nations, the Council and its mechanisms could take to strengthen the response to reprisals, in both preventing reprisals and responding appropriately to cases that have already occurred. 3. The meeting was chaired by the Vice-President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Andras Dekany, the Permanent Representative of Hungary. The panel discussion was moderated by the Chair of the Board of the International Service for Human Rights, Mehr Khan Williams, and opened by the Secretary-General, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The panellists were Deputy State Secretary for Global Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Szabolcs Takács; the Chairperson of the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures, Michel Forst; the Chairperson of the Committee against Torture, Claudio Grossman; and Hassan Shire Sheikh Ahmed, Executive Director of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project. II. Statements by the Secretary-General, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the President of the Human Rights Council, and contributions of panellists A. Secretary-General 4. The Secretary-General, in his opening remarks delivered via video message, defined reprisals as one of the challenges faced by the Human Rights Council and the United Nations as a whole. He reminded the Council that the Secretaries-General of the Organization had reported regularly on alleged reprisals against those who cooperate with the United Nations in the field of human rights. He highlighted various forms of reprisals, underlining that they were only the “tip of the iceberg” given that, understandably, far too many people are scared to report reprisals aimed at silencing them. 3