A/HRC/41/41/Add.2 Annex I. Introduction 1. The exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association contributes to the strengthening of an inclusive and effective system of checks and balances inherent to democracy and essential for societies in which power is held to account. The guaranteed enjoyment of those rights constitutes a precondition for the active participation of individuals and civil society actors in decision-making at all levels of government, which is particularly relevant to the ability of civil society to engage in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (A/73/279, para. 14). 2. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as a universal plan of action, seeks to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential with dignity and equality, and in a healthy environment, that they can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives, that the planet is protected from degradation, and that societies are peaceful, just and inclusive, and free from fear and violence. 3. In the 2030 Agenda, Member States acknowledge the role played by civil society as a key partner in the intensive public consultations and engagement in the two years prior to the adoption of the Agenda, as well as in subsequent efforts to implement the Agenda. States also recognize within the Agenda the need to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies and the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, together with other international human rights instruments and international law. There is an emphasis in the 2030 Agenda on the obligations of States to respect, promote and protect, without discrimination, human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association and expression. 4. In his report of 2018, submitted to the General Assembly at its seventy-third session (A/73/279), the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association affirmed that civil society is both a means to ensuring social participation in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and a beneficiary of the promise of the Goals. In the present annex, the Special Rapporteur provides a non-exhaustive list of practical recommendations emanating from that report, with the hope that all stakeholders involved in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals will find it to be a useful guide to optimizing the participation of civil society in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. In particular, the recommendations are aimed at supporting States in the implementation of their human rights obligations to ensure the enjoyment of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the context of the 2030 Agenda. 5. In May 2019, the Special Rapporteur held a consultation meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, with civil society organizations from around the world to seek their views and input in preparing the aforementioned recommendations. The Special Rapporteur is grateful to those organizations for their contribution. II. Practical recommendations A. A safe and enabling environment is a prerequisite for civil society engagement in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 6. For civil society actors to effectively play their role in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, an enabling environment needs to be in place. Such an environment should acknowledge and seek to nurture the role of civil society in service delivery, humanitarian assistance, research, public participation in policy development, accountability and watchdogs, monitoring, and amplifying the voices of the vulnerable, among other roles. The legitimacy of the role of civil society, founded in law and in practice, provides a solid basis for the active participation of groups in development 2