part of the target – protection of fundamental freedoms – in recognition of the fact that human rights violations and abuses perpetrated against journalists, trade unionists and human rights defenders, and the people who support and work with them, not only have a direct impact on victims’ enjoyment of rights but have a massive inhibiting effect on the general population. It is envisioned that statistical information of this type would support the analysis of various factors: structural (e.g. whether there is a functioning human rights protection system, including a free press and a credible criminal justice system), risks (e.g. discerning general patterns of harm and repression against journalists and other civil society actors) and results (e.g. civic space). As custodian agency OHCHR is responsible for coordinating with other agencies and stakeholders who are interested in contributing to the development of indicator 16.10.1 as well as for:      Collecting and reviewing available data from relevant global, regional and national mechanisms and sources; Providing a storyline for the annual global SDG progress report; Providing and regularly updating metadata; Working on the methodological development and further refinement of the indicator; and Contributing to capacity building in data collection, processing and exchange. In this context, OHCHR in collaboration with two other international organisations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), has engaged in the development of appropriate methodological and data collection approaches for indicator 16.10.1. This document encapsulates these efforts. It proposes a specific statistical classification framework to be used by data sources and providers in classifying the cases reported to them. It also provides methodological guidance for data collection and reporting. This document complements the metadata prepared according to the agreed templates developed under the auspices of the IAEG-SDGs. The outlined statistical classification framework, specifically developed for the purpose of indicator 16.10.1 was the result of an interdisciplinary exercise that sought to bring together international legal and statistical standards. While it is based structurally on the International Classification of Crimes for Statistical Purposes (ICCS) disseminated by the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the normative definition of the different types of violations and components of the indicator have been developed drawing further on 2