A/HRC/43/51/Add.3 Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LAO 2/2019), Malaysia (MYS 2/2019) and Thailand (THA 8/2019). Afghanistan 301. UA 22/11/2019 Case no: AFG 2/2019 State reply: none to date Allegations concerning the arrest warrant issued against a human rights defender, and the hateful messages and threats against him and other members of the Logar Youth, Social and Civil Institution, in connection with their research on alleged widespread sexual abuse of young boys in the Logar province. 302. The Special Rapporteur regrets that, at the time of finalisation of this report, no response has been received from the Government of Afghanistan. He urges the Government to engage with the mandate holders of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, especially given the serious nature of the allegations raised in the reporting period. 303. The Special Rapporteur expresses grave concern at the threats and hateful messages against members of the Logar Youth, Social and Civil Institution, in particular given their reported escalating nature, as well as at the arrest warrant issued against one of the human rights defenders. His concerns are strengthened by the apparent direct link between these acts and the human rights work of the abovementioned individuals, in particular their reporting on alleged widespread sexual abuse of young boys in the Logar province. The derogatory comments, including by public officials, in response to the abovementioned allegations of sexual abuse risk denigrating the important work of the human rights defenders in the eyes of the public and putting their safety at risk. Australia 304. JLA 13/02/2019 Case no: AUS 1/2019 State reply: 04/04/2019 Allegations concerning alleged violations and abuses of the human rights of indigenous and local communities residing in Didipio, Nueva Vizcaya Province, in the Philippines and the environmental degradation in this region, due to the activities of the gold and copper mine exploited by OceanaGold Corporation, an Australia-based mining company. 305. JLA 17/06/2019 Case no: AUS 6/2019 State reply: none to date Allegations concerning the criminalisation of members of the indigenous community, Mr. Gregorio Rojas Paniura, Mr. Edison Vargas Huamanga and Ms. Nohemí Portilla Vargas in Peru. These allegations are related to their work defending the rights of indigenous peoples and the environment in the context of the mining project Las Bambas. The project is implemented by the company MMG Limited which has its headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. MMG's major shareholder is China Minmetals Corporation (CMC), a Chinese state-owned enterprise. 306. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of Australia for its reply to one communication out of the two sent during the period covered by this report and hopes to receive information soon on the remaining one. 307. The Special Rapporteur remains concerned about the alleged involvement of Australian companies OceanaGold Corporation and MMG Limited in the alleged abuse and violation of the rights of environmental human rights defenders in the context of their operations abroad (Philippines and Peru respectively). 308. In his letter AUS 1/2019, the Special Rapporteur requested information on actions taken by the Government to address allegations that the environmental defenders and indigenous leaders opposing the company’s activities in Nueva Vizcaya province in the Philippines, are being accused by the military “of supporting the communist rebels:” The increased military presence in the region, allegedly to fight against the communist insurgents, appears to be protecting the company by preventing any form of protest against the company 46