A/HRC/34/35 with a view to raising awareness of the issues at stake. States could also consider holding general public briefings on the Istanbul Process. 111. States should strengthen their efforts, for example through broad-based education initiatives, to raise awareness of the value of diversity and promote social cohesion at the community level. 112. OHCHR and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization could serve as clearing houses for good practices in education to combat hatred and incitement and educational practices aimed at preventing and countering violent extremism. Echoing the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, who has called for clear and unequivocal prohibition of biased profiling by law enforcement agencies (see A/HRC/29/46, para. 66) and in order to enhance the implementation of the action plan, States are encouraged to gather and provide law enforcement data, including statistics disaggregated by religion. Respect and protection of places of worship and religious sites 113. In their contributions, some Member States outlined legal, policy and other measures taken to promote full respect for and protect places of worship and religious sites, cemeteries and shrines. As noted by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief in several reports to the Human Rights Council, unlike other forms of violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief, attacks or restrictions on places of worship and religious sites in many cases violate the right not only of a single individual, but also the rights of a group of individuals forming the community that is attached to the place in question. 114. States should adopt adequate measures to protect religious sites and prevent acts or threats of violence. States should ensure that all perpetrators of such attacks are brought to justice. The right to establish and maintain the places of worship of religious minorities should be guaranteed. Additional measures should be taken in cases where they are vulnerable to desecration or destruction. States, relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and the media should also promote a culture of tolerance and respect for the diversity of religions and for religious sites, which represent an important aspect of the collective heritage of humankind. Other issues 115. Some States indicated an interest in receiving technical advice and support for the various practical elements outlined in the action plan. OHCHR will be in a position to provide such support upon request. The usefulness of OHCHR developing guidance and tools on the issues at stake could be also considered. 116. Member States could consider streamlining the parallel reporting processes to the Human Rights Council and General Assembly, either in terms of content or focus, or by adjusting the reporting time frames. There is a need to increase reporting by States on the action plan in terms of the overall number of contributions and regional geographic coverage. Since the action plan was adopted, an average of 20-25 responses have been received in response to requests for information sent out by OHCHR. A total of 32 States have submitted contributions for the report to the Human Rights Council, whereas 54 States have done so for the report to the General Assembly over recent years. However, the majority of States have never reported and the regional representation of the contributions received could be improved. 117. Furthermore, the follow-up reports and efforts might be greatly enhanced if all relevant stakeholders, including international organizations, national human rights institutions and civil society organizations, were invited to share their experiences, views and best practices on the topic. 15

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