A/HRC/44/50/Add.2 should register, while providing for sanctions for unlicensed journalists, including on criminal charges carrying sentences for up to two years of imprisonment. 4. Protests in relation to the exploitation of natural resources 69. An environment that allows for the robust exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association is essential for fair and transparent management of natural resources, which benefits local communities. 70. In Hwange, the Special Rapporteur met with the spouses of workers at the Hwange Colliery, who described the desperate situation that had resulted in them initiating a series of protests on behalf of their husbands due to unpaid salaries. Since the workers feared persecution and dismissal from work, their wives decided to bring attention to the situation by protesting peacefully and camping at the company’s premises to demand their husbands’ salaries. The women recounted the difficulties and hardships they had faced within their homes as well as the pressure and threats from anonymous sources possibly linked to the company. 71. In this context, the Special Rapporteur believes that the role that non-State actors play in creating an environment of fear and silencing the voice of the most desperate is a matter of concern, which warrants attention by State authorities in order to prevent and respond to such acts in an effective manner. 72. From his meeting with the Minister of Mines and Mining Development and representatives of the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company, the Special Rapporteur became aware of improvements in legislation and its implementation that seek to enhance transparency, development of additional community-based projects, sustainable mining and better environmental standards. However, this information contrasted with the situation on the ground, particularly when the Special Rapporteur visited the Marange diamond fields and met with the traditional leaders from Zimunya and Marange, as well as with different community-based organizations located in the area. 73. The Marange mines have been exploited for the past 10 years. The Government declared sections of the community’s land protected areas under the Protected Places and Areas Act. Under the Act, access to the area is restricted and freedoms, particularly the freedom of movement, is limited for its inhabitants and even more so for outsiders who wish to conduct activities or engage with communities in the area. The area is militarized with soldiers and armed police stationed at various checkpoints; residents are obliged to carry identification cards permanently. The history of human rights abuses resulting from the exploitation of the mines has been extensively documented by human rights organizations and the media over the past years. 74. Despite recent efforts, the Special Rapporteur is concerned about the perceived secrecy in the granting of licences, which is allegedly carried out without adequate consultation of the local communities and proper environmental impact assessments and under a veil of perceived corruption. 75. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur noticed that there is increasing frustration in relation to the governance of natural resources felt by rural communities who feel directly affected by activities that are not in compliance with national legislation and from which they derive little benefit after the exploitation of the resources. 76. The Special Rapporteur was informed of efforts led by community-based organizations and associations of environmentalists aimed at raising the visibility of the complexity of the situation through peaceful gatherings and demonstrations and petitions to Parliament and the Kimberley Process, with concrete proposals on diamond mining activities. He also learnt about the worrying allegations related to the co-opting by the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company of the members of trusts and associations, who have been dissuaded from their activism and asked to adopt favourable positions for the benefit of the company’s image among the local communities. 77. The Special Rapporteur notes that the activities of environmental human rights defenders and community-based groups are increasing in the country. It is imperative to safeguard an enabling space in which these sensitive discussions can take place without fear 11