interfere with and supervise NGO activities.296 Anti-terrorism and anti-extremism laws are also being used increasingly by certain states in order to restrict and control the activities of civil society. 206. In some participating States, such interference and supervision include excessive reporting requirements, various checks and inspections of NGO documentation and premises, which often take place in an arbitrary manner and without prior notification, and the imposition of restrictions on certain human rights activities. In some participating States, authorities do not allow awareness-raising campaigns or other types of projects touching on certain human rights issues on the grounds that they compromise public safety, health or morals. Limitations on human rights activities are sometimes also justified by declaring that the human rights issues in question are not problematic and therefore do not need to be raised or addressed. Some participating States also deny the existence of certain minority groups, and ban NGO activities related to the protection and promotion of the rights of persons belonging to these groups. 207. In order to increase their control and supervision of the functioning of NGOs, authorities in some participating States collect information on staff or members of NGOs, as well as on beneficiaries of projects or participants in trainings, workshops and other events organized by NGOs. There are also reported instances of state authorities putting pressure on property owners to prevent them from renting indoor and outdoor spaces and facilities to NGOs. 208. T he UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders has stated that such provisions and practices amount to serious infringements of the right to associate freely.297 NGOs and other associations “should be free to determine their statutes, structure and activities and to make decisions without State interference”.298 Participating States should respect the right of NGOs to formulate their programmes and activities and manage their resources – including funding – independently and without interference from the authorities.299 It is not up to the authorities to decide on what human rights issues or with what social groups NGOs can or cannot work. The Council of Europe’s Recommendation on the legal status of NGOs in Europe stresses that “NGOs should be free to undertake research, education and advocacy on issues of public debate, regardless of whether the position taken is in accord with government policy or requires a change in the law”.300 NGOs should not be subject to direction by public authorities; a system of prior 296  A/67/292, 10 August 2012, para. 46. 297  Ibid. 298  A/HRC/20/27, para. 97. 299  As regards trade unions, for example, the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 87 Concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise stipulates that “[w]orkers’ and employers’ organisations shall have the right to draw up their constitutions and rules, to elect their representatives in full freedom, to organise their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes” (Article 3(1)). 300  CM/REC(2007) 14, para. 12. 96 Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders