A/HRC/39/24 in this context, she referred to the practice, adopted by the OHCHR field presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, of compiling and periodically publishing treaty body recommendations. Furthermore, the national human rights institutions in the Balkans region had signed a cooperation agreement in 2002 and had subsequently developed joint activities, including on their role in national court cases. Finally, she recommended that States adopt national human rights action plans and develop early warning systems, which should include designing indicators and procedures that could bring human rights matters into focus at an early stage, rather than only reacting to violations. 15. Ms. Chabbeh provided examples from Tunisia, from a journalist’s perspective, of when prevention works. She noted that the national union of journalists had drafted a plan to protect journalists from attacks and had been working with OHCHR in Tunis and with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in order to educate law enforcement officials, monitor violations of press freedom, and raise awareness among media professionals, government officials, judges and prosecutors concerning impunity for attacks against journalists. 16. She noted that, since September 2015, the national union of journalists had had a unit for monitoring attacks against journalists in Tunisia, with one coordinator, two monitors and a lawyer documenting attacks against journalists, publishing regular reports and coordinating legal support for journalists. All activities followed a gender-sensitive approach, based on international standards and good practices. Furthermore, the national union of journalists was trying to ensure that the mandate of the national human rights institution in that area was strengthened. The scope of the unit’s work had been broadened since 2016 to include issues such as safety at work, access to government documents, the right to protect sources of information, and accountability. She noted that this would help strengthen freedom of expression and hoped that Tunisia would develop a national strategy to assist and protect journalists. The moderator added that the Tunisian national union of journalists was the first worldwide to set up such a monitoring unit, which could be replicated elsewhere in order to prevent human rights violations. 17. Mr. Lynch stressed that attacks against human rights defenders, including journalists, were a warning sign of further human rights violations and abuses. Human rights defenders needed a safe and enabling environment for their work. He welcomed the fact that Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali were developing protection mechanisms for human rights defenders. Prompt and effective action was needed to deal with attacks on human rights defenders, including by the Human Rights Council and other United Nations human rights mechanisms. In that context, he referred to the principles outlined in a joint statement delivered by Ireland on behalf of 32 States during the Council’s session in July 2016.6 18. Furthermore, he suggested that the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect should brief the Human Rights Council on emerging situations of concern. Since journalists and human rights defenders were sometimes the only source of information on the ground, their cooperation with the Council was vital to enable it to act properly. Acts of reprisal impeded the Council from accessing information and constituted themselves human rights violations. The President of the Council and the Bureau members, as well as the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, had duties to address intimidation and reprisals against those cooperating with the United Nations on human rights. Dealing promptly with attacks against human rights defenders was crucial to avoiding further harm and ensuring accountability. 19. During the ensuing discussion, it was stressed that civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights should be addressed equally. It was important to leave no one behind, as demonstrated by the example of rural, illiterate elderly women who were among the most disadvantaged, but who — since they did not pose a risk to stability — tended to be less visible, or less able to bargain with governments, than those who drove 6 See www.dfa.ie/our-role-policies/international-priorities/human-rights/ireland-and-the-human-rightscouncil/irelands-statements-hrc-32nd-session/preventingrespondingtoandaddressinghumanrights violations-jointconcludingstatement/. 5