A/HRC/14/23 115. In exceptional circumstances, international human rights law permits certain limitations to freedom of expression. By establishing those limitations, the State is effectively fulfilling its obligation to prohibit certain expressions owing to the serious damage that they cause to the human rights of others, as provided for in article 20 of the Covenant. 116. The Special Rapporteur reiterates his view that it is conceptually incorrect to present the issue of “defamation of religions” in the abstract as a conflict between the right to freedom of religion or belief and the right to freedom of opinion and expression. 117. The Special Rapporteur expresses concern about the violence to which journalists and media professionals continue to fall victim. 118. States have an obligation to guarantee to all individuals the full enjoyment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression through any medium, while ensuring that their human rights are respected and protected. In particular, they should guarantee the full enjoyment of this right to all persons engaged in journalistic activities in places of internal conflict or war, where the nature of their work places them in a position of greater vulnerability; all social communicators are considered to be journalists for this purpose. B. 1. Recommendations General considerations concerning freedom of opinion and expression 119. States should take the necessary steps to guarantee the effective exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression for all individuals and social sectors, without exception or discrimination of any kind. 120. States should refrain from criminalizing any manifestation of the freedom of expression as a means of limiting or censoring that freedom. Accordingly, any measure of this kind should be abolished, except for the permissible and legitimate restrictions established in international human rights law. 121. States should adopt the legislative and administrative measures necessary to facilitate access to public information and should establish specific mechanisms for that purpose. 122. It is recommended that States establish a legal framework that recognizes and regulates community-based communication within the framework of the 14 principles presented in this report and that a fair balance be struck in terms of frequency allocation among community-based media, commercial media and public-sector or State media. 123. It is recommended that frequency allocation should be overseen and managed by an independent State (public-sector) body. 124. It is recommended that States, the media and financial institutions implement the recommendations set forth in the Colombo Declaration, which are aimed at strengthening the freedom of expression of marginalized sectors of society and their access to media of their own, including electronic media, with a view not only to promoting freedom of expression and democracy but also to combating poverty and meeting the Millennium Development Goals. It is also recommended that States establish a special fund to subsidize access (which requires both connectivity and the necessary equipment) to electronic media for all sectors. GE.10-13049 19