A/HRC/39/24 development. There was empirical evidence of a close linkage between a strong civil society and positive trends for human rights. 1 6. She recalled that, while States bore the primary duty to protect their populations from human rights abuses, the engagement for prevention must extend to national human rights institutions, civil society, academia and private actors. Erosions of freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association were warning signs of broader repressive intent, as were attacks on the freedom of movement of human rights defenders, political opponents, lawyers and journalists. A protective, inclusive and enabling environment for civil society, in law and in practice, was vital for prevention, particularly when combined with independent national human rights institutions, active participation by women and young people, and safe and open access to international human rights bodies. III. Overview of panel presentations and discussions 7. At the outset, the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva welcomed the Deputy High Commissioner’s vision for prevention as outlined in her opening statement and the organization of the expert workshop. Preventive measures were gaining importance as an effective tool in averting conflict, and he referred to the various resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council since 2010 in relation to prevention. A. Towards a framework approach to prevention 8. The first session was focused on possible avenues towards a comprehensive framework approach to prevention. It was moderated initially by the Director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division and subsequently by the Head of the Secretariat of the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi. The panellists were Ivan Šimonović, Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect; Matt Pollard, Director of the Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers at the International Commission of Jurists; Jasminka Džumhur, Ombudsperson of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Khawla Chabbeh, of the Syndicat national des journalistes tunisiens; and Phil Lynch, Director of the International Service for Human Rights. 9. Mr. Šimonović noted that the sooner there was a warning, the better the chances were for successful prevention, if that early warning was passed on to relevant stakeholders who then took effective action. He stressed that human rights abuses, especially discrimination against groups on the basis of their identity, were an early warning sign of an increasing risk of atrocity crimes. In terms of instruments for both early warning and early action, he referred to the universal periodic review, the work of special procedures and treaty bodies, and OHCHR field activities. He noted that the primary responsibility for atrocity crimes prevention under the responsibility to protect lay with Member States, however intergovernmental mechanisms, regional organizations, United Nations entities and civil society also had important roles to play. The Human Rights Council should regularly and promptly receive from the High Commissioner updates on country situations where the human rights situation was deteriorating and the risk of atrocity crimes was increasing. When human rights abuses reached the threshold of potential atrocity crimes, thereby threatening international peace and security, the Human Rights Council should recommend to the Security Council to put the country situation on its agenda. When more information was needed, the Human Rights Council should be faster in mandating commissions of inquiry or independent experts. 10. He suggested that the Security Council should establish an atrocity crimes prevention committee in order to create opportunities for relevant United Nations entities, non-members and civil society to reflect together with Security Council members on 1 See A/HRC/37/65, para. 62. 3