A/HRC/23/34 companies and social groups also use art to propagate their ideas and promote their interests, including concepts of right and wrong to create homogeneity of belief and behaviour. In most cases, restrictions on artistic freedoms reflect a desire to promote a world vision or narrative “while simultaneously blocking all others”.16 37. An artwork differs from non-fictional statements, as it provides a far wider scope for assigning multiple meanings: assumptions about the message carried by an artwork are therefore extremely difficult to prove, and interpretations given to an artwork do not necessarily coincide with the author’s intended meaning. Artistic expressions and creations do not always carry, and should not be reduced to carrying, a specific message or information. In addition, the resort to fiction and the imaginary must be understood and respected as a crucial element of the freedom indispensable for creative activities and artistic expressions: representations of the real must not be confused with the real, which means, for example, that what a character says in a novel cannot be equated with the author’s personal views. Hence, artists should be able to explore the darker side of humanity, and to represent crimes or what some may consider as “immorality”, without being accused of promoting these.17 38. While policies designed to attract wider audiences to art should be encouraged, this should not exclude controversial works because unprepared audiences may be put in contact with them. Rather, it is imperative to enhance arts education, which can be seen as a strong and efficient alternative to censorship. 39. The open access to, and circulation of, artworks through the Internet has increased challenges, with instances of conflicts ignited over artistic expressions made locally, but distributed globally. However, the issue of the Internet must not obfuscate the fact that a great majority of violations of artistic freedoms concern artists working in their own country and questioning their own cultural heritage, traditions and surroundings. III. Restrictions and obstacles: the need for national assessments 40. The multifaceted character of restrictions and obstacles to artistic freedoms needs to be acknowledged so as to provide a better understanding of the obligations of States to respect, protect and fulfil these freedoms and develop good practices. 41. In a large number of cases, States resort to imposing restrictions authorized under international law in inappropriate or abusive ways, favouring some worldviews over others. Consequently, stakeholders lose confidence in State institutions, leading to a loss of credibility of Governments, including when they legitimately impose limitations in accordance with articles 19 (3) or 20 of ICCPR. This effect is amplified when rules are ambiguous and procedures are not transparent. A. Persons impacted 42. Obstacles to artistic freedoms impact on the enjoyment of rights by a wide range of people: the artists themselves, whether professionals or amateurs, as well as all those participating in the creation, production, distribution and dissemination of artwork. They include authors, musicians and composers, dancers and other performers, including street 16 17 Marie Korpe, Ole Reitov and Martin Cloonan, “Music censorship from Plato to the Present”, in Music and Manipulation, Bergahn Books, 2006. Agnès Tricoire, Petit traité de la liberté artistique (La Découverte, Paris, 2011); Submission from Denmark, p. 1. 9