A/HRC/31/55 an enabling environment through human rights awareness, human rights education and human rights monitoring, including of the situation of defenders. They connect advocacy at the national level with regional and international mechanisms, and participate in the work of the Human Rights Council, including the universal periodic review process. National human rights institutions receive and investigate complaints of violations, raise systemic and constitutional concerns with the judiciary and assist in training defenders about their rights and security. They may also observe public demonstrations to safeguard the freedom of assembly by documenting police abuse. 95. The judiciary also can protect defenders at risk, both by ordering preventative steps from government officials and by remedying past violations. Judicial administrators have developed timely methods to bring urgent cases before the court with a view to taking preventative action rather than dealing with damages after the fact. Procedural reforms can escalate the issuance of warrants for the arrest of defenders or the search of human rights organizations to more senior levels of the court, which decreases the likelihood of undue process. Since the judiciary may itself be responsible for violating defenders’ rights (for example, by unjustified criminalization of defenders), judges should receive training on international standards, including on the right to defend human rights, in order to minimize their complicity in such violations. 96. National parliamentarians can support the creation and monitoring of laws and policies that support a safe and enabling environment. Caucuses within these bodies focused on human rights issues can organize debates on policy and commission research. For example, the All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group, in the United Kingdom, and the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid, in the German Parliament, regularly meet with defenders at risk, advocate to other Governments for the protection of defenders, and organize debates and discussions on the situation of defenders and State policies concerning their protection. International networks of parliamentarians provide forums to share good practices and set new standards, such as in the case of the resolution on “Democracy in the digital era and the threat to privacy and individual freedoms” adopted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) at its 133rd IPU Assembly. VI. Regional and international support for the protection of defenders 97. The duty to protect human rights defenders lies first and foremost with the State. The international community, however, plays an important role in supporting States in fulfilling their responsibilities. 98. As noted above, defenders are protected at a number of levels. Regional and international forums provide opportunities to discuss, coordinate and develop policies for the protection of defenders. Besides defenders themselves, actors at the international and regional level include international and regional organizations, States, civil society networks, international civil society organizations and philanthropic funders. At these levels, international actors play an important role in supporting the development of strong policies and guidelines, monitoring and responding to the situation of defenders and providing flexible funding for their protection. A. Developing and disseminating effective policies and guidelines for the protection of defenders 99. Regional and international forums provide opportunities to formulate, coordinate and develop policies for the protection of human rights defenders. Regional organizations 18