A/HRC/37/55 consultation — in the design, support, promotion, funding and evaluation of all such initiatives. B. Recommendations 85. States should ratify and fully implement the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and adhere to the Optional Protocol thereto. 86. National, subnational and municipal governments should: (a) Uphold international standards on the right to take part in cultural life, on the diversity of cultural expressions and on freedom of expression, including by recognizing that incitement to hatred and violence should not be tolerated; (b) Respect and ensure the human rights of artists and those engaging in the cultural field, and their audiences. Take urgent steps to investigate threats to and attacks against such persons and bring to justice alleged perpetrators in accordance with international standards. All artists jailed for exercising artistic freedom must be immediately released; (c) Provide adequate support and security for artists, cultural workers, audience members and participants; create and promote networks of support for artists and cultural workers taking risks in zones of violent conflict and facing repression; (d) Offer asylum to those whose artistic or cultural work, including that which is socially engaged, has led to their persecution, and facilitate the continuation of their work in exile; (e) Gather information about socially engaged arts-based and cultural initiatives, as well as local artistic and cultural resources, so as to recognize their contributions to society, and support them effectively; (f) Involve artists and cultural workers, especially those active in socially engaged work, in the planning, execution and evaluation of initiatives to counter social divisions and address human rights issues, as well as in transitional justice initiatives; (g) Minimize risks of self-censorship and instrumentalization of arts and cultural initiatives, by: (i) Focusing resources on funding for local infrastructure needed for art-making, such as local theatres and cultural centres and public spaces for arts productions, as well as training programmes in the various art forms; (ii) Creating opportunities for a multiplicity of actors to engage positively with artistic and cultural productions; 57 (iii) Undertaking awareness-raising about the importance of artistic expression and cultural production, including that which is socially engaged, so as to heighten public support for such work and those who take part in it; (iv) Establishing a transparent process and explicit criteria for selection of artists and cultural workers eligible for publicly funded grant support, or for arts initiatives that will take place in public space; (v) Creating review panels or other structures for accountability that have broad representations of respected civil society leaders and can maintain the independence of artists; (h) Create opportunities for exchange among artists from countries with a history of conflict or animosity, as well as for their participation in multidisciplinary teams and local, regional and global networks; 57 18 See also A/HRC/25/49, para. 72.