A/HRC/25/55 D. Invitations by Governments 16. On 23 and 24 April 2013, the Special Rapporteur was invited to Berlin by the German Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs to brief its members about the work of her mandate, challenges and current trends. She also had meetings with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the German Institute for Human Rights. 17. She also delivered a keynote speech on 25 April 2013 at a conference on “Human Rights Defenders under Pressure: challenges of their work and how to support them”, organized by the German Embassy in the Czech Republic. E. Cooperation with non-governmental organizations 18. The Special Rapporteur has maintained fruitful cooperation with civil society at national, regional and international levels. She regrets that, owing to time constraints, she could not participate in all the conferences and seminars to which she was invited. On occasions where the Special Rapporteur could not be present herself, she endeavoured, to the extent possible, to have an OHCHR staff member participate on her behalf. 19. On 30 January 2013, in connection with the meeting with regional groups of the Council, the Special Rapporteur participated in consultations with civil society in Geneva hosted by the International Service for Human Rights. 20. From 2 to 4 April 2013, the Special Rapporteur participated in a conference entitled “Empowering defenders at risk” organized by Civil Rights Defenders, which took place in Stockholm. 21. On 9 September 2013, a staff member participated in a workshop entitled “Human Rights Activism and Risk: Assessing the Global Impact of the European Union” at the Association of Human Rights Institutes Annual Conference. The workshop was organized by the Human Rights and Social Justice Research Institute with London Metropolitan University, the Centre for Applied Human Rights at University of York and Amnesty International, and took place in London. 22. On 12 September 2013, the Special Rapporteur spoke at an international conference entitled “Civil Society under Assault: Global Repercussions and U.S. Responses”. This conference was sponsored by Freedom House and Human Rights First and took place in Washington, D.C. 23. From 9 to 11 October 2013, a staff member participated in the Seventh Dublin Platform organized by Frontline Defenders. 24. On 22 October 2013, a staff member participated at the African Human Rights Defenders Awards, given on the margins of the fifty-fourth ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and organized by the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network, which took place in Banjul. 25. On 13 November 2013, the Special Rapporteur delivered a lecture in the context of a conference entitled “Worldwide under pressure – Human Rights Defenders”, hosted by Brot für die Welt and the German Institute for Human Rights in Berlin. 5