A/HRC/4/37 page 7 10. NGOs need to be reassured that civil society participation in the work of the Human Rights Council will remain vital and be broadened. The Special Representative urges the Council to give due attention to these issues and to allay any concerns of the civil society stakeholders whose importance and relevance to the functions of the Council cannot be underestimated. F. Other activities 11. On the invitation of the Office of the High Commissioner in Cambodia, the Special Representative visited Cambodia from 9-12 December to mark Human Rights Day. She participated on a panel discussion on Human Rights and Poverty organized by the Cambodian Human Rights Committee, a coalition of over 20 human rights organizations and was a keynote speaker at an all-day event in the Olympic stadium of Phnom Penh where over 9,000 participants were present. The event was organized by some 30 NGOs. II. THE WORK OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN THE FIELD OF ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS 12. The Special Representative has observed that in a significant number of cases brought to her attention, denial of economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) has spurred action by defenders, that has led to the violation of their human rights. While this reality is more marked in the Asian and the Latin American regions, it is a global trend that has become relevant to any discussion on strategies for the protection of defenders. By focusing this report on the situation of human rights defenders working in the field of ESCR, the Special Representative wishes to emphasize that not only are the rights that these defenders seek to promote inalienable to the international human rights framework, but the activities they conduct in this respect are also fully protected by the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. This focus is also, in part, her response to questions that have sometimes been raised regarding the status of those promoting ESCR as defenders of human rights. A. Legal context for activities for the promotion of economic, social and cultural rights 13. The following is a brief overview of ESCR protected by selected internationally recognized human rights instruments and of other provisions of such instruments that have relevance to activities conducted for the protection of these rights. The main instruments are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and some common articles in the ICESCR and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Relevant provisions of other human rights instruments are subsequently outlined. 1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights 14. In UDHR articles 16 (rights in marriage), 17 (the right to property), 22 (the right to social security), 23 (the right to work, including the right to form trade unions), 24 (the right to rest and leisure), 25 (the right to an adequate standard of living), 26 (the right to education), and 27 (the right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community and the right to the protection of moral and material interests) deal directly with ESCR.