A/HRC/33/28 50. The moderator asked the panellists to comment on whether they regarded “violent extremism” and “terrorism” as identical. While noting that they were close relatives, Mr. Garatea believed that they were not the same because violent extremism often aimed at vengeance and breaking the status quo, whereas terrorism focused on attacking the system as such. Ms. Farooq highlighted the difference between measures to prevent or counter violent extremism and counter-terrorism: the former sought to mitigate the risk factors of radicalization that could lead to violent extremism while the latter focused on stopping individuals once they had been radicalized. Ms. Ghanea thought that efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism needed to continue despite the lack of an accepted definition; a working definition that was human rightscentric would need to emerge, however, and any definition that was taken would have to make a distinction between thoughts and actions, in line with articles 18 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Mr. Abbadi also stressed the distinction between action and thought, stressing the importance for States to distinguish “extremism” from “violent extremism”. Furthermore, he emphasized the role of capacity-building and training, including for police, military and security officials, in order to put human rights front and centre in preventing and countering violent extremism. 51. Asked about the best way of protecting the rights of journalists while preventing and countering violent extremism, Ms. Ghanea noted that States had to ensure rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of the press, and secure a framework for the operation of independent media. In addition, States had to offer protection against reprisals and provide redress to those journalists whose rights had been violated. 52. The moderator acknowledged the tendency of violent extremism to be linked with certain groups and religions. Ms. Farooq noted that many people became radicalized owing to political grievances or economic conditions. Yet, even in countries where people were very observant, religion was not necessarily the prime motivator for violent extremism. She stressed that research was needed at the local level to better understand the drivers of radicalization within each specific region. 53. Mr. Abbadi recommended that States focus on human rights education, capacity-building and the training of trainers. Ms. Ghanea agreed with the view expressed by several stakeholders that preventing and countering violent extremism constituted a positive challenge for the international community in terms of creating social cohesion within societies, fostering collaboration between international and national actors and allowing the international community to pay attention not only to the inter-State and State levels but also to the community level. Ms. Farooq urged States to focus on understanding how best to operationalize a rights-centric approach to preventing and countering violent extremism, noting that funding for civil society organizations was limited and needed to be expanded, especially at the grass-roots level. Mr. Garatea highlighted the role of women in preventing and countering violent extremism. 54. Finally, the moderator recalled that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights would prepare a report on best practices and lessons learned on how protecting and promoting human rights contribute to preventing and countering violent extremism (see A/HRC/33/29). 12