Every year, Mr Ban Ki-moon is indeed to report to the Human Rights Council on reprisals against persons cooperating with the UN human rights mechanisms, on the basis of Resolution 12/2. In this resolution from 2009, the Human Rights Council expressed concern over intimidation and reprisals committed against individuals who cooperate with the UN, and condemned the fact that the victims suffer violations of their human rights, including the rights to life, liberty and security of the person, as well as the right to freedom from torture. The Council urged all governments to prevent and refrain from all acts of intimidation or reprisals against those who cooperate with the United Nations.

Three years after the 'Arab Spring' uprisings and the call of citizens for the respect of their fundamental civil and political rights, most states are still falling short of their populations' aspirations. Unfortunately, many of the region's human rights defenders suffer from harassment, persecution and in some cases arrest, torture, detention and prosecution for their work providing information to the UN on human rights violations in their country, often via Alkarama.

In Algeria, harassment of activists such as Smail Ghellab, journalist and President of the League for the Defence of Human Rights in M'sila, denouncing human rights violations in their country continued. In April 2013, Smail received threats from the Department of Information and Security as he was asked to "refrain from getting involved in what is none of his business" and told that he was being "wiretapped and closely watched".

In Djibouti, where security and military authorities are continuously threatening, harassing and intimidating human rights defenders, Zakaria Abdillahi, lawyer of many opposition members and journalists and President of the Djiboutian League of Human Rights, has suffered from reprisals. Following months of pressure and even death threats, he was arrested on 23 January 2014 for his alleged "attempt to share intelligence with a foreign power" and kept in secret detention for three days before being released.

In Egypt's context of a broadening crackdown on dissent following the military takeover in July 2013, the authorities have sought to silence a human rights activist, Ahmed Mefreh, Alkarama's country representative, for his documentation of cases of violations to the UN. In early September 2013, Ahmed had an arrest warrant issued against him, based on fabricated facts such as "being a member of an armed organisation". His house was visited several times by the State Security Investigation Services and ransacked.

Moreover, the crackdown on human rights defenders continued in the Gulf: as activists' awareness of UN mechanisms grew, they increased their cooperation with its human rights mechanisms, and the authorities sought to repress calls for respect of their citizens' human rights.

In the UAE, where the human rights situation has been worsening over the last two years, Osama Al Najjar, a human rights activist very active in defending the 'UAE 94' was arrested last March, just a few weeks after meeting with the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, who was conducting a visit in the country. He was told that he had been charged with "instigating hatred against the state" and "spreading false information". After his secret detention during which he was tortured, he was transferred to Al Wathba Prison, where he remains to date.

In Saudi Arabia, prominent lawyer and human rights defender Waleed Abu Al Khair, has been subjected to continuous harassment for his collaboration with the UN Special Procedures. Two criminal cases were opened against him for allegedly "being in contact with foreign organizations", "spreading a bad image of the country" and "making international organizations hostile to the country". He is currently detained in Riyadh's Malaz Prison. On the other hand, Ahmad Al Twijiri was abducted in December 2013 and detained incommunicado for three weeks, only for having campaigned for the release of his brother, Khaled, whose detention was recognized as arbitrary by the UN. He is currently detained in the prison of Al Qassim for having "defended his brother publicly" and "demonstrated in front of the prison".

In Oman, Ibrahim Al Balushi, Nasser Al Yahyai and Talal Al Mamari have been repeatedly harassed for their support to prisoners of conscience in their country: arrested on 7 May by the Internal Security Services, they are still detained in Muscat's Internal Security Prison.

These cases of reprisals only represent the tip of the iceberg – many others who seek to submit their loved ones' cases to the UN human rights mechanisms have wished their case to remain confidential by fear of further retaliation. Alkarama urges all Arab states to ensure that all voices, including dissenting ones, can be heard without fear from reprisals.