A/HRC/2/6 page 5 6. The extent to which article 20, paragraph 2, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) can be used as the basis for actions to counter hate speech and intolerance needs further investigation. There is also need for a policy dialogue to balance the various competing demands, and for guidance in order to agree on a coherent response that can guide States in fulfilling their obligations to curtail incitement of hatred and violence, while at the same time ensuring the integrity of the international human rights system. 7. The report starts with a brief statement on the state of racial and religious intolerance, noting the need to undertake a more comprehensive study to document the extent of the problem as the basis for an effective international legal and policy response. The second part of the report reviews the state of the law and practice on incitement to racial and religious hatred, and how it is interpreted and applied by relevant monitoring mechanisms. The third part of the report discusses in more detail the main legal and policy issues that arise from the analysis of the jurisprudence with respect to the implementation of the law. In the fourth part, the report identifies some of the challenges of interpreting and implementing the law. The report then discusses possible alternative responses to the phenomenon of racial and religious hatred and intolerance, with an emphasis on how to promote tolerance. The final part of the report draws some preliminary conclusions from the review of the law and proposes steps for the consideration of the Human Rights Council. I. DEFAMATION OF RELIGIONS AND INCITEMENT TO RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS HATRED 8. It has not been possible for OHCHR, in the short time available to produce this report, to undertake the kind of extensive exercise that is necessary to document the extent to which there may be an increase in incidences of defamation of religions and incitement to racial and religious hatred and how these incidences are manifested. 9. However, several highly publicized episodes over the last few years have highlighted the need to focus attention on measures to foster tolerance and understanding, and to reinforce global efforts to promote and protect all the human rights of all people. These include incidences of vandalism directed against places of worship, including mosques, churches and synagogues, reported cases of attacks on individuals because of their religious beliefs, and restrictions and other punitive measures that are applied on the basis of race and religion. At a time of particularly high sensitivities, these have led to social tensions and discord. 10. In response, many Governments have initiated measures to strengthen legal protection for victims of the abuses that stem from such episodes. Some have introduced new legislation to sanction these actions, while others have reinforced existing law and introduced new punitive measures. At the international level, as well, concern has been raised about some of these developments – including those by special rapporteurs of the Commission on Human Rights and now the Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, and the Special Rapporteur for the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, have expressed their concern about intolerance and the absence of respect for other religions.