A/HRC/41/41/Add.2 protected. Public authorities should aim to engage civil society through a constructive approach, in which they publicly recognize the positive contribution of the civil society sector in country development. 29. All acts of reprisal against those engaging or seeking to engage in Sustainable Development Goal processes, in whatever form, should be prohibited and sanctioned. Such acts include: threats to life and physical safety; stigmatization; criminalization; denial of accreditation, visas and permits; and restrictions on the freedom of movement. All allegations of such reprisals must be promptly, thoroughly and independently investigated. Access to effective remedies and reparation should be guaranteed to victims and their families. 30. Civil society organizations denouncing corruption, lack of good governance and human rights violations by State and non-State actors should be protected and supported in their advocacy for positive change. In that way, they contribute to building peaceful, just and inclusive societies, as required under the 2030 Agenda. Box 1 Ensuring a safe and enabling environment: examples of promising practice The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights adopted guidelines on the rights to peaceful assembly and association, which offer guidance to States on how to promote and protect those rights and adopt a legal framework that has, as its primary purpose, the enabling of the exercise of those rights.a Anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) legislation exists in several states in the United States of America, such as California, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas.b Those state-level laws provide procedural protections against baseless suits to silence and intimidate civil society actors in their work. The growth of anti-SLAPP statutes in the United States is largely attributable to a growing recognition of a worrying trend of suits filed by corporations against non-governmental individuals or organizations as an intimidating tactic to silence them and drain their resources. c a African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa (2017). b See https://anti-slapp.org/your-states-free-speech-protection. c Section 425.16 (a) of the California Code of Civil Procedure states, for example, that “there has been a disturbing increase in lawsuits brought primarily to chill the valid exercise of the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and petition for the redress of grievances”. B. Inclusion and participation of civil society is essential 31. The inclusion of civil society organizations in processes related to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development serves to enrich debates, build global awareness of the Agenda, and add to the knowledge and expertise needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. That principle ensures that the overarching theme of the 2030 Agenda of leaving no one behind is fulfilled by civil society by amplifying and aggregating the voices of the poorest and most marginalized and channelling them into conversations at the local, national, regional and global levels. The conditions described below enhance the possibilities for the full participation and inclusion of civil society in Sustainable Development Goal processes. 1. Full participation 32. Genuine consultation processes should ideally be embedded in local and national development and planning processes, thereby including civil society in the full range of activities leading to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. 33. Civil society voices should be included in the determination of how civil society participates, including in defining local needs, setting priorities, developing strategies and 5