A/HRC/27/33 30. Artists did not enjoy the same protection and support globally as other groups, such as journalists. Very few individuals and organizations society worked to support artists in danger. Ms. Khan cited the example of Freemuse, an international organization advocating and defending freedom of expression for musicians and composers worldwide. She welcomed the report of the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights,1 and its focus on artists and the right to freedom of artistic expression and creation. On the ground, artists often found themselves isolated, with no solidarity and support. 31. Ms. Khan highlighted the fact that dictators used art for their own benefit and as a means of propaganda, and business corporations used art to influence the way people made their choices. Stressing that art was as necessary in democracy as a free press, she firmly held the view that artists working for the advancement of human rights and dignity should be supported by the international community because they played a vital and underestimated role in civil society. She concluded by saying that all talents and creativity were needed for the human family to overcome challenges and to achieve the world all would like to live in. G. Human rights lawyer and Honorary President of the Tunisian League for Human Rights 32. Highlighting experiences of civil society actors in Tunisia, Mr. Trifi focused on the role of civil society during the transition period in the country. He stressed the fact that civil society played a fundamental role in building the new State by participating in the development of new laws and policies essential for human rights and democracy. Civil society organizations were consulted on the first initiatives during the transition, such as a decree on a general amnesty for prisoners of conscience and laws on accession to four international treaties (the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court). 33. Three of the most important civil society organizations (the General Union of Tunisian Workers, the Tunisian League for Human Rights and the National Bar Association) had taken part in setting up essential democratic institutions that promulgated a new electoral code and adopted a new, liberal law on freedom of association, which, inter alia, included a provision on the possibility of State funding for non-governmental organizations, as well as funding from abroad. Several thousands of associations had been established in Tunisia since the adoption of the law in September 2011. 34. Mr. Trifi spoke about the role of civil society in the 2011 elections, which were fundamental for democracy, as they were the first democratic and transparent elections in Tunisia. For the first time, more than 10,000 civil society activists had been mobilized to monitor the elections of the Constituent Assembly, with the assistance of the international community, including support from OHCHR. The first task for the Constituent Assembly was to draft a new Constitution. As the majority of the Constituent Assembly members came from an Islamist party, there were fears that sharia law might be imposed and that the advancement of women’s rights might be blocked, with the discourse focusing on “complementarity between women and men” rather than full equality. Once again, civil society, in particular women’s organizations, had advocated in the public space for full 1 8 A/HRC/23/34.