A/73/362 exercise agency with regard to freedom of religion or belief, as well as actors involved with promoting civil liberties. 57. In this spirit, United Nations engagement with regard to promoting respect for freedom of religion or belief has focused on eliminating intoleran ce and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief 27 and has spawned a number of initiatives that address concerns related to the advocacy of religious hatred and mass atrocities. Of particular relevance are measures to combat intolerance, negative stereotyping, stigmatization, discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against persons based on religion or belief (see Human Rights Council resolution 16/18). Likewise, initiatives developed in the context of mass atrocity prevention, and which are grounded in international human rights law, can also play a useful role in strengthening societal resilience against violent extremism. These activities identify specific roles and practical measures not just for Governments, but also for civil society and faith-based actors. However, while their relevance to the wider international strategies for countering terrorism has been recognized by the Secretary General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, 28 care must be taken not to securitize dialogue and engagement with religious or belief actors or to instrumentalize these initiatives for objectives related to preventing and countering violent extremism. 58. Developing collaborative networks of faith-based actors to promote human rights is clearly a worthy goal, especially with regard to fostering respect for pluralism. In many cases, religious organizations themselves provide the best hope of spreading the message of tolerance and reconciliation that wil l help ensure an individual’s right to practice her or his religion in peace in whatever country she or he resides. However, care must be taken to ensure that such approaches are inclusive and accessible to all, without discrimination with regard to any pr otected characteristic. It is also important to ensure that such collaborative networks commit to the rights and freedoms enshrined in international human rights law. Failure to do so might contribute to reinforcing various stereotypes and forms of intoler ance. A. Human Rights Council resolution 16/18 and the Istanbul Process 59. The Istanbul Process for Combating Intolerance, Discrimination and Incitement to Hatred and/or Violence on the Basis of Religion or Belief, which has been facilitating, since 2011, the implementation of the agenda identified in Human Rights Council resolution 16/18, has been endorsed by human rights experts as “a promising platform for effective, integrated and inclusive action by the international community” (see A/HRC/22/17/Add.4, appendix, para. 41). The resolution identifies a comprehensive, action-oriented strategy that comprises a mix of legal, policy and administrative measures as well as outreach programmes to promote equality, pluralism, participation, understanding and community cohesion and resilience. 60. Although the Istanbul Process is not generally regarded as a tool to prevent and counter violent extremism, some of the early activities that were implemented under its framework, particularly the training of law enforcement officials in detecting and responding to incitement, clearly bear out the relevance of the Istanbul Process to efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism. Likewise, the most recent meeting of the Istanbul Process, held in Singapore in July 2016, identified practical community-based projects that fostered societal cohesion and resilience against __________________ 27 28 16/22 Marc Limon, Nazila Ghanea and Hilary Power, “Fighting religious intolerance and discrimination: the United Nations account”, Religion and Human Rights, vol. 11, No. 1 (April 2016). See, for example, paras. 36 and 49. 18-14697