A/HRC/15/53 remind that peaceful expressions of opinions and ideas either orally, through the press or other media, should always be tolerated, as long as they do not fall under the restrictions enshrined in articles 19, paragraph 3, and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 77. The Special Rapporteur would like to distinguish between negative stereotyping of religions on the one hand, and of religious followers or of sacred persons on the other, since these instances should be treated differently from a human rights perspective. International human rights law protects individuals and groups of individuals and therefore guarantees the freedom of individuals and groups of individuals to exercise freely their religion or belief. Religions as such however are subject to vigorous interrogation and criticism regarding their doctrines and teachings in the context of the full exercise of the freedom of expression. Yet, freedom of opinion and expression may be restricted when it amounts to advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. 78. With regard to negative stereotyping of religious followers and of sacred persons, the Special Rapporteur would like to recall that, in accordance with article 19, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the exercise of the right to freedom of expression “carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subjected to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: (a) for respect of the rights or reputations of others; (b) for the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals”. Yet, the Special Rapporteur would like to recall that, as stated by the Human Rights Committee in its general comment No. 10, “when a State party imposes certain restrictions on the exercise of freedom of expression, these may not put in jeopardy the right itself”.8 79. The respect of the rights or reputations of others has in some cases been relied on in order to request restrictions on the right to freedom of expression and sanctions against the perpetrators of defamatory language targeting religious followers or sacred persons. While the Special Rapporteur believes that each case should be adjudicated on its own merits by an independent and impartial judiciary, he would like to emphasize that the argument relating to the defence of truth should always be taken into account and that a very high threshold should be met before warranting restrictions and sanctions on defamatory expressions targeting individuals. In cases concerning sacred persons, the fact that the latter may be fully assimilated with a religion should also be taken into consideration when assessing the case. In cases where the high threshold is met and the defamatory statement is proven to be a false one, the Special Rapporteur would like to underline that the implementation of sanctions, if any, should in no way be of a criminal nature. As stated by Frank La Rue, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, in his report to the fourteenth session of the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/14/23, para. 83): “any attempt to criminalize freedom of expression as a means of limiting or censuring that freedom must be resisted. He therefore encourages all efforts to decriminalize acts considered to be acts of defamation and to make civil liability proceedings the sole form of redress for complaints of damage to reputation. However, civil penalties for defamation should not be so heavy as to block freedom of expression and should be designed to restore the reputation harmed, not to compensate the plaintiff or to punish the defendant; in particular, pecuniary awards should be strictly proportionate to the actual harm caused, and the law should give preference to the use of non-pecuniary remedies, including, for example, apology, rectification and clarification”. 8 16 Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 10 on freedom of expression (1983), para. 4. GE.10-14999