HIGHLIGHTS OF RESULTS pared submissions for the review of El Salvador; 13 submissions were prepared by civil society organizations in Ecuador; and nearly 80 alternative reports were submitted by Tunisian organizations. The number of registered individual communications increased from 170 in 2013 to over 300 in 2017, while the number of registered requests under the urgent action procedure of ICPPED rose from 50 in 2014 to over 440 in 2017. Civil society actors and NHRIs also engaged with the human rights treaty bodies through the submission of alternative reports and inputs in relation to the review of, for example, Cambodia by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); Chad by the CRC; the Dominican  Republic by the Human Rights Committee; Honduras by the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD); Nicaragua by the Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW); and Niger by CEDAW. In addition, approximately 16,500 submissions were made by civil society actors to draw the attention of the special procedures to human rights issues of concern. For instance, several individual and joint submissions were made by civil society actors in Panama to the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples; and approximately 25 communications were sent to the special procedures by civil society organizations in Paraguay. To support civil society actors in their increased engagement with the international human rights mechanisms, a number of actions were implemented to address reprisals against individuals and organizations cooperating or seeking to cooperate with them. As of the end of 2017, all of the human rights treaty bodies had established working groups or focal points on re- prisals. Moreover, responding to allegations of threats and reported cases of reprisals against civil society representatives during the UPR or HRC sessions, the President of the Council followed up on reported cases through bilateral meetings and formal correspondence with concerned States and indirectly during the sessions. Progressive development of international and regional human rights law A number of mandate-holders contributed to the development of international human rights law and promotion of good practices through the preparation of reports and guidelines. For example, the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination completed a four-year global study on national legislation in 60 countries across all regions. The study highlighted the need for stronger regulations of private military and security companies, both nationally and internationally, and significantly contributed to the discussions of the intergovernmental working group regarding an international regulatory framework for these actors. The Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy continued his work on a draft legal instrument aimed at regulating surveillance in cyberspace at the global level. In addition, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography presented a thematic report to the HRC on the sale of children and illegal adoptions, contributing to the development of child rights and protection standards in this area. Also, the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity finalized a draft declaration on the right to international solidarity and submitted it to the HRC. UN system-wide response to reprisals and intimidation for cooperation on human rights Efforts to establish a UN system-wide response to reprisals and intimidation for cooperation with the UN on human rights are led by the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights. Key achievements in 2017 included the compilation of an unprecedented number of new cases of intimidation and reprisals and trends in 29 countries. This information was included in the annual report of the Secretary-General on “Cooperation with the UN, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights” (A/HRC/36/31), which was presented to the Human Rights Council. The Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights also used this information in his advocacy with Member States in relation to individual cases of intimidation and reprisals. UN Human Rights also made gains in its outreach with UN interlocutors at headquarters and field levels. This resulted in enhanced awareness and improved coordination among various UN departments to address relevant cases; the implementation of outreach initiatives to facilitate improved communication and engagement with civil society, especially human rights defenders who are at risk of becoming or are victims of intimidation and reprisals; and high-level engagement with Member States in relation to support for a UN system-wide effort and key intimidation and reprisals cases. The Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights also addressed particular instances of intimidation and reprisals with members of the Security Council and the Peacebuilding Commission. UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2017 13