A/HRC/40/65 State, although, he argued, without civil society’s input and oversight, parliaments could not perform their role effectively. 47. Ms. Morandini offered insights garnered during her career as a journalist and as a deputy and senator. She spoke about the need to combat mutual distrust between the press and politicians. In her recommendations to parliaments, she stated that the best way to gain the confidence of journalists was for parliamentarians to clearly defend freedom of opinion and expression. She also urged parliaments to focus on concrete issues and avoid political propaganda and bureaucratic language, to hold public information hearings, to work with schools and universities and to offer human rights training to journalists. She stated that parliaments must persuade the media and civil society organizations to raise awareness about the importance of parliaments for democracy. She said that parliamentarians needed to learn how to talk about difficult issues and citizens needed to know that decisions taken in parliament affected their lives. She highlighted the importance for public engagement of the freedom of information law recently adopted in Argentina. Turning to the potential for the Internet to provide global connectivity, Ms. Morandini emphasized that there should be no excessive filtering or blocking on Internet service provision and intermediary Internet companies should be committed to transparency and freedom of expression. Ms. Morandini argued that the media’s work was based on freedom. Legislators should work openly with the media. In concluding remarks, she reiterated the importance of upholding democracy and building trust between politicians and journalists. 48. Participants discussed the importance of exchanges between national parliamentarians on issues relating to human rights, youth, civil society, climate change and technology. Others referred to Sustainable Development Goal 16 and emphasized that parliaments were part of the rule-of-law system and must be open to all. 49. Participants emphasized that the media and parliament both had a stake in promoting and upholding human rights. They discussed different approaches to laws on foreign funding of civil society organizations and referred to the importance of closer links between parliament and civil society. Noting the challenges facing civil society, they asked how legislators could help civil society engage with parliament. The discussions also touched on the need for human rights defenders to be protected against reprisals. 50. Participants identified questions regarding the relationship between the judiciary and the executive concerning independence in the appointment of judges, who should appoint judges, who can ensure that judges are impartial and fair, and who can remove a judge. During discussions about judiciary accountability, reference was made to the 1985 Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary 4 and the presence, in many States, of judicial councils that managed the judiciary and dealt with corruption or abuse. Developing the capacity of the judiciary, and ethical codes of conduct for the judiciary, were also considered. Judges and parliamentarians needed to understand their respective weaknesses and strengths and work together. The lack of gender parity in the judiciary was a concern. 51. Participants asked how parliaments could ensure the establishment of national human rights institutions where they had not yet been set up. In reply, a panellist said that States that had national human rights institutions should articulate the benefits and bring this up in regional and bilateral conversations. B. Recommendations 52. Parliaments and the judiciary should perform their functions with due respect for their respective roles and independence and seek to complement each other to ensure better protection of human rights and the rule of law. Parliaments should take measures to encourage gender parity within the judiciary. 53. States that do not have one should take steps to create a national human rights institution that is in line with the principles relating to the status of national 4 See www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/independencejudiciary.aspx. 13