A/HRC/24/38 governmental organizations so as to eliminate politicization and enhance civil society access to the Council. (f) The Council should consider recommending to the General Assembly to bring specific legal questions concerning self-determination, war, peace, democracy, corporate social responsibility and debt cancellation to the International Court of Justice for advisory opinions. C. Recommendations to Civil Society and National Human Rights Institutions 58. Article 29 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates, “Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.” The Independent Expert is aware that in many countries there is little space for civil society to operate and articulate legitimate demands. Nevertheless, he encourages civil society to: (a) Take on this challenge as a civic duty and reclaim its rights, demand consultation and effective participation in decision-making, reliable opinion polling and referenda as a right, in particular on matters of State-ordered surveillance, which affects civil and political rights, and on matters of retrogression93 in social services, including “austerity measures”, privatization of essential public responsibilities, etc. Civil society should take advantage of new digital technologies and social media to revitalize democracy, e.g. by demanding social services, regulation of the financial markets, denouncing war mongering and human rights violations; (b) Invoke United Nations procedures, including the new Optional Protocol to ICESCR. They should call their representatives to account and engage domestic and international tribunals, including regional instances of examination and settlement, and United Nations treaty bodies; (c) Engage in peaceful resistance against structural violence imposed on them by governments and corporations. The right to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association should be invoked in order to restore democratic participation 94; (d) Insist on accountability of government officials and expose violations of human rights by their governments. In particular, civil society should investigate and take action on the revelations by whistleblowers, when it becomes apparent that democratically elected governments have acted or are acting ultra vires and in contravention of international law, including United Nations human rights treaties, and the 1949 Geneva Conventions and 1977 Additional Protocols. Civil society should reject impunity for crimes committed by their political leaders and for white-collar crimes of financiers and corporate magnates; (e) Make greater use of direct democracy, if available, or demand that its representatives elaborate, discuss and adopt appropriate legislation to facilitate public initiative, referenda, recall and impeachment. Civil society should demand frequent opinion polling at both the international and national levels. Crucial is the right to 93 94 Article 2(1) of the ICESCR establishes the principle of non-retrogression. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also recognizes the “obligacion de progresividad” in article 26 of the American Convention on Human Rights Stéphane Hessel, Indignez–Vous, 2011. Norman Finkelstein, Gandhi, 2012. 21