A/HRC/RES/40/11 fair and equitable manner, without prejudice to the implementation of each of those rights and freedoms, Reaffirming that States have the primary responsibility and are under the obligation to respect, protect and fulfil all human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons, and welcoming the steps taken by many States to create a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders, Reaffirming also the importance of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and its full and effective implementation, and that promoting respect, support and protection for the activities of human rights defenders, including women and indigenous human rights defenders, is essential to the overall enjoyment of human rights and for the protection and conservation of the environment, including the rights to life, to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food and housing, safe drinking water and sanitation, and cultural rights, Recognizing the positive, important and legitimate role played by human rights defenders in the promotion and protection of human rights as they relate to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and deeply concerned that human rights defenders working in environmental matters, referred to as environmental human rights defenders, are among the human rights defenders most exposed and at risk, Underscoring that more than 150 States have recognized some form of a right to a healthy environment in, inter alia, international and regional agreements, their constitutions, legislation or policies, Recognizing that the twenty-fourth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2018 operationalized the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform, adopted as part of decision 1/CP.21 on the Paris Agreement, in order to recognize their climate actions, their role in climate policy, and strengthening the role of traditional knowledge in mitigating and adapting to climate change, Recognizing also the importance of gender equality, the empowerment of women and the role women play as managers of natural resources and agents of change in the safeguarding of the environment, as well as the multiple and intersecting forms of violence and discrimination against women human rights defenders, indigenous peoples, children, persons belonging to minorities and rural and marginalized communities, Recognizing further that, while the human rights implications of environmental damage are felt by individuals and communities around the world, the consequences are felt most acutely by those segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations, and that the specific nature of indigenous peoples and rural and local communities can aggravate their vulnerability, as they can be located in isolated areas without communication access or network support, and recognizing also that indigenous peoples are among the first to face the direct consequences of climate change owing to their dependence upon and close relationship with the environment and its resources, Taking note of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, 1 and noting with concern her findings with regard to attacks against and the criminalization of indigenous human rights defenders, and calling upon all States to consider the recommendations contained in the report, Alarmed by the increasing rate of killings, violent acts, including gender-based violence, threats, harassment, intimidation, smear campaigns, criminalization, judicial harassment, forced eviction and displacement of environmental human rights defenders, including indigenous and women human rights defenders, and human rights defenders addressing issues relating to land rights, their family members, communities, associates and legal representatives, as reported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and other special procedures, 1 2 A/HRC/39/17.