A/HRC/43/51 vis-à-vis institutions and transitional justice efforts. United Nations field presences also report on how their fact-finding, peacekeeping and humanitarian work is affected when local communities avoid cooperating for fear of reprisals. 43 These downward spirals must be stopped. C. Violations of key rights of defenders operating in conflict and post-conflict areas The legal framework we have now is basically filled with grounds for severe restrictions of our work. (Defender, Libya) 34. Defenders’ freedom of association continues to be curtailed in the name of public order, national security and counter-terrorism, often in contravention of both constitutional and international obligations. This is nothing new. 44 Burdensome administrative requirements and unclear or costly fees sometime prevent or deter NGOs from registering. Arbitrary denial or withdrawal of registration have been reported, along with forced closures and assets freeze under states of emergency. NGOs are sometimes requested to disclose the identities of all their members. They must cope with complex tax-related, antimoney-laundering and security-related obligations, report extensively on their funding and activities in specific areas, and risk prosecution for activities likely to be defined as “political”. Surveillance, repeated administrative checks, raids of their premises and the seizure or damage of essential equipment add to this pressure. Defenders have also reported being the target of a growing number of digital attacks, paralyzing their communications means. Entire organizations are thus repeatedly attacked, over protracted periods of time and by all means, including the judicial harassment of staff or board members. Many NGOs report working in a climate of permanent fear and facing difficulties to recruit, sometimes also due to major restrictions on freedom of movement. 35. Many defenders operating in conflict and post-conflict areas rely on international support for their activities. Their right to solicit, receive and use international funding is increasingly put in question. In several occupied or disputed territories, new clearance procedures have been introduced for accessing international grants. NGOs can face regulatory limitations and stringent controls. Public disclosure obligations facilitate their labelling as “foreign agents”. Attempts to discredit them vis-à-vis international partners or to threaten these partners with retaliatory restrictions to their own or wider operations have also been reported. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about prospects of further legal restrictions and, in some instances, threats of prosecution for defenders receiving such support. He refers States to the existing standards and guidelines calling upon them not to impose undue restrictions on the ability of NGOs to access funding, including from foreign and international sources, and to refrain from invoking money-laundering and financing of terrorism as pretexts for such discriminatory restrictions or from monitoring their transactions. 36. In some areas, long-term curfews, emergency laws and blanket prohibitions on gatherings continue to jeopardize defenders’ right to meet and assemble peacefully. Attempts to further restrict the legal framework have been reported. In areas under occupation, military orders or security legislation sometimes de facto prohibit the exercise of this right in contravention of applicable international human rights law. Defenders otherwise have to deal with stringent requirements, opaque procedures and excessive delays when trying to secure authorization for demonstrations or meetings, including on private premises. Laws on peaceful assembly are used to arrest and charge activists challenging the reinstallation of martial law or the resumption of hostilities. The Special Rapporteur is also alarmed by the wide repression of public demonstrations in a number of conflict and postconflict contexts. Law enforcement and military responses have been carried out on the basis of rules of engagement inconsistent with international standards resulting in serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. Defenders seeking to 43 44 A/HRC/39/41, para. 80. E/CN.4/2006/95/Add.3, paras. 20–21. 11