263. In spite of OSCE commitments and international obligations, in a number of OSCE participating States, individuals and groups are not able to submit freely and without fear of reprisals statements, reports or other monitoring and research materials, complaints and other communications to relevant international bodies. In addition, their ability to participate freely in debates and to meet and otherwise co-operate with these bodies, whether in their own country or abroad, is sometimes significantly curtailed, including as a result of threats, warnings, travel bans or smear campaigns which they are subject to for engaging with them. NGOs providing information to international mechanisms have reported that they were “monitored” by law enforcement authorities, or that their offices and private homes of staff were searched and broken into. Some have reportedly had their passports confiscated or were prevented from boarding planes to travel to international meetings, while others have faced retaliation upon their return. In some countries, the authorities apply legislation that prohibits the propagation of “false information” deemed damaging to the country’s reputation or similar laws to criminalize human rights defenders for activities related to human rights monitoring and for reporting the results to international bodies. The UN Committee against Torture, for example, has expressed concern about overbroad criminal provisions concerning treason, which can be interpreted as prohibiting the sharing of information on human rights issues with the Committee or with other human rights organs.400 Reprisals are often linked to multiple forms of human rights violations, including undue restrictions on freedom of movement and violations of the right to liberty and security, freedom of association and others. 264. T he annual reports of the UN Secretary General on Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights have illustrated that reprisals against persons co-operating with the United Nations are a problem of growing concern, including in a number of OSCE participating States. In the context of their monitoring of reprisals, the UN has also reported receiving allegations of acts of intimidation and reprisal as a result of co-operation with 400  See “Concluding Observations: Russian Federation”, UN Doc. CAT/C/RUS/CO/5, 11 December 2012, para. 12. Thus, the Committee has called on the state party to “[e]nsure that no individual or group will be subjected to prosecution for communicating with, or for providing information to, the Committee against Torture, the Sub-Committee on Prevention of Torture or the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture or to other United Nations human rights organs in performing their respective mandates”; see ibid. para. 12(b). Furthermore, it also expressed specific concern about legislation requiring organizations that receive financial support from foreign sources to register and identify themselves publicly as “foreign agents”; see ibid. para. 12. Subsequently, the Committee received allegations that charges were brought against two organizations and its leadership under these provisions, in relation to information submitted by these two organizations to the Committee. See “Letters sent by the Chairperson and the Rapporteur on reprisals to the Russian Federation on 17 and 28 May 2013”, http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/TBSearch.aspx?Lang=en&TreatyID=1&DocTypeID=130. In its Concluding Observations on Tajikistan, the Committee against Torture also expressed serious concern about reports of harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders following their meetings with the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment during his visit to Tajikistan in May 2012, and about the dissolution on administrative grounds of a human rights organization that had engaged with the Special Rapporteur during his visit. See Committee against Torture, “Concluding Observations: Tajikistan”, UN Doc. CAT/C/TJK/CO/2, 20 November, 2012, para. 15. 122 Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders