A/HRC/40/46 organizations (NGOs) or United Nations agencies unless the Ministry was notified. On 30 April, UNSMIL staff were turned back at the gate of the Tarik al-Sikka detention centre by officials despite having the required authorizations, while on 16 May they were denied access to the Zuwara detention facility by the town mayor. 41. UNSMIL/OHCHR documented the use of physical violence and threatening language by Libyan Coast Guard officials during search-and-rescue operations in Libyan and international waters. In a meeting with UNSMIL in October, Coast Guard officials justified the use of force against migrants as necessary to protect lives at sea, arguing that migrants resisted return to Libya. As of early October, the last rescue boat operated by an NGO, the Aquarius, lost its Panama registration, leaving migrants and refugees exposed to even greater risks. A standoff in November, when migrants rescued by a freighter refused to disembark in Misrata and were forcibly removed after several days by security forces affiliated to the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry for Defence, including the Libyan Coast Guard, the Department for Combating Illegal Migration and other security agencies, using tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition, illustrated new challenges. C. Media professionals, activists and human rights defenders 42. The rights to the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly remained restricted, and media workers, human rights defenders and other activists were subjected to arbitrary detention, unlawful deprivation of liberty, intimidation and threats. In areas under the control of the Government of National Accord, foreign journalists and Libyan correspondents of foreign media organizations faced difficulties in obtaining accreditation. 43. Media workers who criticized armed groups or reported on human rights issues or corruption were particularly targeted. For instance, on 22 October, media worker and blogger Al-Mukhtar al-Halak, who worked on stories of corruption by local officials, appeared before prosecutors accused of defamation and spreading false information; he was subsequently released on bail. He had been detained since 11 October at the Al-Ajilat police station where he was allegedly ill-treated. Armed groups also targeted prominent media figures. Two organizers of an annual media award, Suliman Gashout and Mohammed Yaghubi, were arbitrarily detained from 29 April to 15 July at the Mitiga detention facility controlled by the Special Deterrence Force. 44. Activists and relatives of victims of human rights violations seeking to publicly voice their grievances received threats on social media or by telephone. In October, relatives of civilians from Derna detained in Libyan National Army prisons were warned, allegedly by fighters allied with the Army, not to organize protests against their relatives’ incommunicado detention. Two Tripoli-based activists were detained and beaten by unidentified armed men, reportedly in connection with their involvement in protests, including those calling for the disarmament of armed groups. 45. While article 26 (6) of the Libyan Political Agreement commits parties to support the functioning of the National Council for Civil Liberties and Human Rights – the national human rights institution – the term of the Council elapsed in late 2014 without appointment of a new board. In August, a general administrative director of the Council was appointed, reportedly by the Presidency Council. The legality of the appointment was questioned, as law No. 5/2011 establishing the Council provides that commissioners must be appointed by the National Transitional Council, which is interpreted to be the legislative branch. 46. Several decisions by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Civil Society Commission – a body under the Presidency Council – were adopted in early 2018 aimed at further restricting the work of NGOs. In February 2018, the Commission instructed Libyan civil society organizations not to take part in any activities organized by international organizations or NGOs in Libya or abroad without informing the Commission at least two weeks before the scheduled event. 8