A/HRC/44/50 12. Root causes 75. Future strategies must be based on a thorough and nuanced understanding of the root causes of the phenomenon of closing civic space and more broadly address its drivers, including corruption, inequality and the continued erosion of and backsliding on democracy. VI. Renewed call to action 76. The establishment of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association 10 years ago came at a crucial time in human rights history. The Human Rights Council is to be commended for its efforts to anticipate and provide international protection to these two fundamental freedoms when it was most needed. Civil society consulted as part of the preparation for the present report have affirmed the mandate’s key role in defending these freedoms over a decade of compounding challenges. 77. In the last decade, extensive work has been carried out to articulate, reinforce and, where appropriate, expand the applicable international norms, core principles and standards for the enjoyment of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. Mandate holders have striven to study global trends and issues affecting the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and to identify opportunities and tools to address them. Mandate holders have also broadened the base of support and engagement in favour of these freedoms and sought to support effective implementation and positive reform at the domestic level. At the United Nations, many actors have engaged in a constructive dialogue with the mandate holder and supported its work throughout these years. Most importantly, however, through collaboration with civil society organizations and key partners, mandate holders have contributed to the building of a movement for the promotion of these freedoms. 78. Unfortunately, despite what one would expect, the trend for closing civic space has not diminished. On the contrary, the world currently faces an unprecedented global health crisis, with devastating health and socioeconomic impacts. Instead of harnessing the power of civil society, many governments have seized on the crisis to impose further limitations to the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, including on civil society’s ability to support an effective response. As daunting as these challenges are, however, there are many reasons to remain hopeful and seek out concrete opportunities to transform what the future will hold. There is a sense of both urgency and hope. While it is essential to continue current work and expand on successful strategies and lessons learned, it is important to move forward towards a more vigorous and coordinated agenda to protect the rights to peaceful assembly and association across the world. 79. The ambition should be to mobilize international and regional organizations, States, civil society actors and other stakeholders whose coordinated commitment and actions are required to address the threats to civic space and create an enabling environment for the exercise of these fundamental freedoms. As part of these efforts, the Special Rapporteur will galvanize progress towards enjoyment of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in relation to social and grass-roots movements, women and girls, youth and climate change activism, digitalization of society, accountability and access to justice, and labour rights. The Special Rapporteur will give further attention to the situation of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the context of elections, democratic transitions and in post-conflict countries and as well as in times of crisis, such as the one triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. 80. In addition, the Special Rapporteur offers the following recommendations to the United Nations system, bodies and mechanisms: (a) The Human Rights Council should continue to extend the mandate over the coming years, in recognition of the prevalence of violations of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and of the need for continued international attention to the broader trend of closing civic space. The Council should also continue to discuss issues related to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and should adopt resolutions that are aimed at enhancing the promotion and protection of those 18