Cooperation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe A/RES/73/15 importance of the interface offered by the presence at the Council of Europe of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representation to the European Institutions in Strasbourg, as well as by the Permanent Delegation of the Council of Europe to the United Nations Office at Geneva; 17. Recognizes and encourages the continuing close liaison and fruitful cooperation between United Nations missions and the Council of Europe offices in the field; 18. Encourages further cooperation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe in the area of democracy and good governance, including through active participation in the Strasbourg World Forum for Democracy and engagement with members of parliaments, youth representatives and civil society, as appropriate, and the strengthening of the links between the Council of Europe European Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals and relevant United Nations agencies, as well as between the World Programme for Human Rights Education and the Council of Europe programme on education for democracy, and in this context welcomes the contribution to the activities of the International Contact Group on Citizenship and Human Rights Education; 19. Notes the important role of the United Nations Development Programme and the Council of Europe in supporting good local democratic governance, as well as the fruitful cooperation between them, encourages further deepening of the cooperation in this field, and calls for enhanced cooperation between the Council of Europe and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN -Habitat) in the field of sustainable urban governance, in particular also through the Council of Europe Conference of Ministers Responsible for Spatial/Regional Planning; 20. Also notes the cooperation between the European and Mediterranean Major Hazards Agreement of the Council of Europe and the United Nations, in particular the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, and further notes the cooperation between the Council of Europe and the United Nations in the field of nature, in particular on the basis of the enhanced memorandum of cooperation between the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats; 21. Further notes the contribution of the Council of Europe in protecting and promoting all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to freedom of expression and opinion and the freedom of the media, including through the Council of Europe platform to promote the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists, and encourages further cooperation between the Council of Europe and the United Nations in this regard, in particular with regard to the implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity; 22. Reaffirms that, as the information society and the Internet develop, the rights to privacy and freedom of expression, as set out in articles 17 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 8 must be protected and respected, including as they relate to data protection, while recognizing lawful restrictions as set out in national legislation in accordance with international human rights law, in this context acknowledges the importance of the work of the Council of Europe in protecting those rights and in the fight against hate speech online and offline, welcomes and encourages the cooperation between relevant United Nations agencies and special procedures of the Human Rights Council, including the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, and the Council of Europe, most notably with __________________ 8 18-20450 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex. 5/7