A/HRC/44/25 36. Examples at the global and country levels include the following: (a) Relevant civil society organizations with observer status to the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board can put forward issues related to restrictions of access to information for a board discussion; (b) The transparency portal of UNDP provides the public and civil society with open data access to its more than 4,000 projects; (c) UN-Women hosts a global knowledge platform to end violence against women, which is open to the public and is aimed at improving knowledge and coordination among different actors in order to address violence against women more effectively; (d) The Environment Live platform of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) facilitates the exchange and sharing of the latest information, data, assessments and knowledge among member countries, networks, indigenous peoples and civil society; (e) United Nations country teams in Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Myanmar and the Philippines have civil society advisory groups led by UN-Women that share critical information on women’s rights, project activities and civic engagement; (f) The United Nations country team in Brazil disseminates messages on race, gender and ethnicity using alternative, free, community, educational and ethnic media. The country team in Thailand facilitates hackathons in indigenous languages. In Timor-Leste, the Gender Coordination Group is convened with the Secretary of State for Equality and Inclusion to share updates and information on gender equality among civil society, government and development partners. C. Promotion of civic space 37. A vibrant and free civic space with channels for safe and effective participation enables societies to be more peaceful and prosperous. The right to participate in the conduct of public affairs, protected and guaranteed by international law, is a cornerstone of civic space. Complemented by fundamental freedoms, it allows civil society to be effective. The United Nations has a key role to play in supporting States in implementing the commitment to enable inclusive and transparent participation in public affairs, including in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and in facilitating inclusive, safe and enabling environments where stakeholders can contribute. 38. However, legal restrictions, including those that criminalize civic activity under the pretext of national security, predominantly affect those civil society activists and groups that work on the rights of women and young people, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly, as well as journalists and groups working on counter-terrorism activities and on discrimination against and exclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights defenders. The challenges they face are further exacerbated by undue restrictions by State and non-State actors on the registration and regulation of NGOs, social media regulations and the monitoring, shutdowns and blocking of websites under the pretext of national security concerns. 39. The Human Rights Council guidelines on participation15 provide a set of orientations and basic principles for States on the effective implementation of the right to participate in public affairs, in both electoral and non-electoral contexts, including participation at the supranational level, such as in international organizations. Furthermore, Council resolutions and guidelines, recommendations contained in previous OHCHR reports on civic space, 16 annual thematic reports of special procedures and other mechanisms can be useful and practical sources of information and guidance to advocate for protection and promotion of civic space. 15 16 See A/HRC/39/28 and Human Rights Council resolution 39/11, in which the Council presented the guidelines as a set of orientations for States and other relevant stakeholders. A/HRC/32/20 and A/HRC/38/18. 9