A/HRC/27/33 equality between women and men in the text of the new draft Constitution, which was adopted by an overwhelming majority of the Constituent Assembly in January 2014. 35. Acknowledging the essential role of civil society during different stages of the transition process in Tunisia, Mr. Trifi highlighted several remaining obstacles. Some associations, established in accordance with the new law, were suspected of fostering terrorism, and some politicians would like to see stricter control by the Government of the activities of non-governmental organizations and a ban on foreign funding. In Mr. Trifi’s opinion, while there was a legitimate need to monitor the funds of such organizations, any attempt to restrict a legitimate space of civil society actors would be counterproductive. Another challenge for newly created non-governmental organizations was the lack of human and material resources and the need for training and capacity-building to increase their professionalism. III. Summary of the discussion 36. During the plenary discussion, the following delegations took the floor: Pakistan (on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation), Ethiopia (on behalf of the Group of African States), India (on behalf of the Like-minded Group), the European Union, Yemen (on behalf of the Group of Arab States), Norway (on behalf of Nordic countries), Morocco, Algeria, China, the Czech Republic, Germany, Chile, Uruguay, Indonesia, Portugal, Poland, Tunisia, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Japan, Colombia, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland, Angola and Hungary. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) also contributed to the discussion. 37. Also participating in the dialogue was the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, as well as the following non-governmental organizations: the European Disability Forum; International Service for Human Rights in a joint statement with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International, the World Organisation Against Torture and the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project; CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation; the International Federation for Human Rights Leagues; and Save the Children International in a joint statement with World Vision International, Defence for Children International, Plan International and the International Catholic Child Bureau. 38. The following delegations were unable to deliver their statements owing to lack of time: Estonia, Slovenia, Belgium, Netherlands, France, the United States of America, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, Australia, Austria, Slovakia, the Sudan, Burundi and the International Association for Religious Freedom, a non-governmental organization. The delegations’ statements were posted on the extranet page of the Human Rights Council. A. Importance of the promotion and protection of civil society space 39. Several delegations welcomed the first formal discussion in the Human Rights Council on civil society space as a human rights concern, and thanked the main sponsors of Council resolution 24/21 (Ireland, Chile, Tunisia, Japan and Sierra Leone), as well as OHCHR, for convening the panel discussion. Some participants stressed that the panel was an important step towards the recognition of the crucial role that an independent, diverse and pluralistic civil society played in the realization of human rights on the ground, as well as for the work of the Council. Some States appreciated the fact that the panellists represented the diversity of civil society and its work. They considered it fundamental to have a debate at the institutional level to assess options for strengthening civil society at the national, regional and international levels. 9