A/HRC/44/50 46. These restrictions also reached multilateral institutions. In a presentation given in 2019 to the General Assembly, the former Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights indicated that the number of reported reprisals for cooperating with the United Nations doubled in the last decade: from an average of 15 to 20 countries reported annually starting in 2010 to 48 in 2019.46 47. In several countries, the rise in restrictions to assembly and association rights was driven by war and conflict, failed transitional processes or return to military rule. In others, these restrictions were part of a trend of rising fundamentalism, nationalism and populist politics. In these contexts, violations of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association found support in non-State actors, including natural and legal persons and groups or associations, that were seeking to advance ideologies favoured by the State and crowd out space for independent organizations.47 These actors have become more assertive and visible in recent years, in part owing to access to social media. B. COVID-19 pandemic 48. The world is currently facing an unprecedented global health crisis. As of April 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had taken the lives of thousands of people around the world. In country after country, health-care systems have been overwhelmed, undermining their ability to care for people with chronic or serious health conditions and to respond effectively to the increasing number of patients infected by COVID-19. The pandemic has disrupted people’s livelihoods. Millions have lost their jobs or sources of income. While 2019 was marked by a rise of protest movements around the world seeking justice, equality and democracy, and fighting against corruption, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken by States to address it have stopped these aspirations. 49. The Special Rapporteur recognizes that governments all over the world have taken extraordinary steps to respond to this rapidly evolving crisis and protect people’s health, while reducing the socioeconomic impact of measures being implemented. He is concerned, however, about information suggesting several worrying trends and limitations, including on civil society’s ability to support an effective response, as highlighted in a public statement he issued on 14 April 2020.48 50. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about the adoption of sweeping emergency laws and measures to rule by decree. Some of the measures adopted have been geared towards cementing control and cracking down on oppositional figures rather than ensuring public health. A trend towards the militarization of crisis management is similarly worrying. Elections are being postponed in all regions of the world owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, without full transparency or consultation with civil society. 51. Civil society organizations are also facing numerous restrictions on their work, brought on in part by limitations on access to cross-border funding. Without money and staff, civil society organizations will not be able to continue to operate, thereby preventing them from helping to address this global crisis. In the last decade, restrictions on funding have become a major threat to associations across all regions of the world. 49 These restrictions have no place in today’s world. International solidarity is needed more than ever. 52. Members of civil society together with other workers, moreover, have been constrained by a lack of access to necessary personal protective equipment. In this context, accounts of cases where labour representatives have faced retaliation for speaking out against dangerous situations at the workplace are particularly troubling. The Special Rapporteur has called on governments to ensure that civil society organizations, including human rights 46 47 48 49 OHCHR, “Reported reprisals increase against those who cooperate with the UN”, news release, 20 December 2019. A/HRC/32/36. OHCHR, “‘States responses to Covid 19 threat should not halt freedoms of assembly and association’ – UN expert on the rights to freedoms of peaceful assembly and of association, Mr. Clément Voule”, news release, 14 April 2020. See also OHCHR, “COVID-19: States should not abuse emergency measures to suppress human rights – UN experts”, news release, 16 March 2019. A/HRC/23/39. 13