A/HRC/31/55 present it to the Council at its thirty-second session. Some non-governmental organizations have also made their own suggestions on ways to ensure a stronger civil society space.5 30. The present report is set against the above background and aims to follow up on the findings made by the Special Rapporteur at seven regional consultations with human rights defenders, as presented to the General Assembly in October 2015 (see para. 24 above). The report therefore explores good practices aimed at protecting human rights defenders and promoting their work, and identifies ways and means to make those practices more effective. B. Methodology 31. The present report benefited greatly from the frequent exchanges that the Special Rapporteur had with human rights defenders, including during the seven regional consultations, as well as from discussions during experts meetings on the growing threats and risks that defenders face. Furthermore, it drew from the literature and research material on the protection of defenders, and was based on submissions received by the Special Rapporteur from various stakeholders. It was also informed by reports of the previous mandate holder on the security of human rights defenders (see for example A/HRC/13/22), as well as by communications that the mandate has issued on violations committed against defenders in the recent past.6 32. In addition, the Special Rapporteur launched a public consultation on good practices in the protection of defenders through an online secure survey, available in English, French and Spanish. He also addressed questionnaires to Member States and national human rights institutions to seek their views. He received 76 submissions in total, including nine from States (Brazil, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Qatar, the Republic of Moldova, Spain, Switzerland, and the Netherlands) and an intergovernmental regional organization (European External Action Service). Replies were also received from 43 non-governmental organizations, 19 human rights defenders, three national human rights institutions and a trade union. C. Defining protection practices 33. In the context of the present report, a good practice in protecting human rights defenders is a practice that contributes to the full respect of their rights and strengthens their security, including by mitigating the risks they face, addressing threats and building support for their work. Although the focus of the report is centred on effective practices in the protection of defenders, the Special Rapporteur does not necessarily aim to compile a compendium of such initiatives; The report rather exemplifies through specific measures ways to strengthen the protection regime of defenders. Nonetheless, as a follow-up to the present report, the Special Rapporteur intends to publish such a compendium in a more accessible format, which will be available online in due course. 34. The Special Rapporteur observes great diversity, creativity and innovation in protection practices around the world. The practices range from emergency responses for defenders in immediate danger to preventative efforts to reduce the risks that they face, 5 6 “How to create and maintain the space for civil society: what works?”, joint submission by 12 NGOs to the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, September 2015. All observation reports on communications by the Special Rapporteur are available from www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SRHRDefenders/Pages/AnnualReports.aspx. 7