A/HRC/44/25 III. United Nations policies and practices relating to civic space and civil society engagement: the three “Ps” 12. Since 2018, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and UN-Women have been leading a United Nations initiative on protecting and promoting civic space, which included a mapping of United Nations policies and practices related to civil society engagement and civic space during the first half of 2019, to which over 100 United Nations entities at global and country levels contributed. While the survey answers do not reflect the situation of the entire system, they are an indication of overall trends in relation to the civil society engagement by different parts of the system. These efforts, together with global civil society consultations conducted in January 2020 on the role of the United Nations in protecting and promoting civic space, and similar consultations held by other parts of the United Nations, identified a number of areas for the United Nations to improve upon, which can be clustered around three “Ps”: participation, promotion and protection. 13. The United Nations must first ensure equal and diverse civil society participation by strengthening policies and practices on the participation of and partnerships with civil society and by removing barriers to access. Second, the United Nations must actively promote civic space by advising on and proactively advocating for the safe participation of diverse civil society groups in national decision-making processes, by seizing opportunities to expand civic space and by systematically highlighting positive contributions of civil society. Third, the United Nations must protect civil society actors through effective, coordinated and strengthened responses, including protection from intimidation and reprisals against those who cooperate or seek to cooperate with the United Nations. 14. According to the information gathered, many parts of the system do have policies on access to information and on participation, in particular in relation to certain groups, such as women, young people and communities relevant to specific mandates. In terms of the diversity of the constituencies that the various entities engage with, the reforms in the context of the 2030 Agenda and sustainable peace have led to some noteworthy improvements, but there are still many gaps in terms of participation modalities and effective outreach to groups at risk of being left behind, in particular minorities and indigenous groups. A limited number of United Nations entities reported clearly spelled out policies and established practices on promotion of civic space and protection of civil society actors. The need to facilitate the exchange of good practices and lessons learned within the United Nations system was highlighted. A. Overarching policies that relate to all three “Ps” 15. Under the development pillar, the common minimum standards for multistakeholder engagement under the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, adopted by the United Nations Sustainable Development Group in 2019, contain guidance in relation to all three “Ps”. In terms of civil society engagement, the standards emphasize that the United Nations has a role in: (a) Ensuring fair and representative stakeholder engagement and participation in its operations; (b) Facilitating access to information and facilities; (c) Advocating for enabling environments; (d) Ensuring the safety of stakeholders who engage, including online and, in particular, in contexts where civic space is under threat. 16. The United Nations Sustainable Development Group operational guide on leaving no one behind, prepared for United Nations country teams in 2019, provides step-by-step guidance on how to operationalize that pledge, including by assessing who is left behind, prioritizing actions and monitoring progress. The guidance is aimed at: (a) Strengthening United Nations accountability for inclusive and consistent multi-stakeholder engagement with communities and people who are left behind; 4