A/HRC/31/55 16. On 22 and 23 September, the Special Rapporteur addressed the 2015 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Warsaw, also taking part in a side event on human rights defenders organized by the European Union. 17. On 14 and 15 October, a staff member of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) supporting the mandate of the Special Rapporteur participated in “Closing civil society space gathering”, which was organized in Geneva by CIVICUS and Human Rights Watch and which brought together more than 40 civil society leaders from international and regional civil society organizations. 18. On 20 October, the Special Rapporteur was in Washington, D.C. to meet with representatives of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and of civil society. Two days later, he presented his second report to the General Assembly, on global trends in risks facing human rights defenders (A/70/217). 19. At the eighth Dublin Platform, held from 4 to 6 November, and organized by Frontline Defenders, the Special Rapporteur delivered a keynote speech and met more than 100 defenders from all around the world. He also met on the margins with representatives of the Government of Ireland. 20. On 11 November, in Germany, the Special Rapporteur held meetings in Berlin with the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs to discuss the work of his mandate, challenges and current trends. He also met with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Human Rights Commissioner. 21. On 1 and 2 December, the Special Rapporteur conducted an unofficial working visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, at the invitation of the AllParty Parliamentary Human Rights Group. During his visit, he also met with government officials as part of a Wilton Park dialogue on ways to strengthen the protection of human rights defenders in the United Kingdom and around the world. He also participated in a round table with representatives of civil society organizations and in an academic event at the University of London. 22. On 3 and 4 December, the Special Rapporteur took part in the seventeenth European Union-NGO Forum on Human Rights in Brussels, dedicated to protecting and promoting civil society space. 23. On 10 December, an OHCHR staff member supporting the mandate of the Special Rapporteur assisted at and participated in the Hague Training Course 2015, organized by Justice and Peace for defenders at risk, and attended the award ceremony of the Human Rights Tulip 2015, held by the Government of the Netherlands for defenders promoting human rights in innovative ways. III. Conceptualizing protection practices A. Background 24. In October 2015, the Special Rapporteur presented his second report to the General Assembly, which outlined main observations and findings from the seven regional consultations he had organized with human rights defenders from October 2014 to June 2015 (A/70/217, paras. 28-98). The consultations brought together more than 500 defenders, including 280 women defenders, from 111 States. 25. As underlined by the Special Rapporteur in his report, the situation of human rights defenders around the world raises serious concerns. The threats faced by defenders come in 5