A/HRC/27/33 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 26 June 2014 Original: English Human Rights Council Twenty-seventh session Agenda items 2 and 3 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Summary of the Human Rights Council panel discussion on the importance of the promotion and protection of civil society space Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Summary The present summary report was prepared in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 24/21, in which the Council decided to convene, at its twenty-fifth session, a panel discussion on the importance of the promotion and protection of civil society space, and invited the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner to liaise with States, relevant United Nations bodies and agencies, relevant special procedures, civil society and other stakeholders with a view to ensuring their participation in the panel discussion. The panel discussion was held on 11 March 2014. The report contains a summary of the statements delivered by the SecretaryGeneral and the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, and contributions by the moderator and panellists. It summarizes the discussion in four parts: the importance of the promotion and protection of civil society space; the challenges that States face in their efforts to ensure space for civil society; experiences, lessons learned and good practices with regard to space for civil society; and strategies and steps that could be adopted to ensure a safe and enabling environment for civil society. GE.14-06649 (E) *1406649*