delays in the issuance of travel documents and travel bans that prevent human rights defenders from leaving the country solely for reasons related to their human rights work, should be promptly removed. The UN Human Rights Committee has also expressed its concern about the need for individuals to obtain an exit visa in order to be able to travel abroad, and has stated that such systems should be abolished.334 Participating States have reaffirmed that they respect the right of everyone to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country, in accordance with states’ international obligations and CSCE commitments. As such, they have stated that “[r]estrictions on this right will have the character of very rare exceptions, will be considered necessary only if they respond to a specific public need, pursue a legitimate aim and are proportionate to that aim, and will not be abused or applied in an arbitrary manner”.335 230. W here human rights defenders are denied the right to leave their country because their names appear on a list of individuals whose movement from the country has been prohibited, they should be notified of this status as soon as the respective decision has been made; they should also be informed of the substantive justification of such a decision and provided with the possibility to challenge the travel restriction before a competent, independent and impartial court. The names of human rights defenders should be promptly removed from the list if there is no lawful justification for their inclusion on the list. Procedures relating to the imposition of travel restrictions on human rights defenders should be transparent, lawful and accountable. 231. Freedom of movement within the country: In a number of participating States, human rights defenders also continue to face undue restrictions with regard to free movement across the territory of the state. They are barred from accessing certain parts of the country, autonomous regions or disputed territories, and therefore prevented from conducting monitoring and reporting or other activities to promote the observance of human rights in those areas. Furthermore, in some participating States, free movement is restricted in order to prevent human rights defenders from taking part in certain public events, including meetings, marches and demonstrations that convey messages that are critical of the authorities or in favour of 334  See UN Human Rights Committee, “Concluding Observations on Uzbekistan”, UN Doc. CCPR/C/UZB/ CO/3, 7 April 2010, para. 18, and “Concluding Observations on Kazakhstan”, UN Doc. CCPR/C/KAZ/CO/1, 19 August 2011, para. 18. 335  106 Copenhagen 1990, para. 9.5. Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders