A/HRC/28/66 104. In situations in which speaking out against violence may be dangerous, fellow believers living in safer political environments should lend their voices and clearly condemn violence committed in the name of their religion. 105. Religious communities and their leaders should promote empathy, respect, non-discrimination and an appreciation of diversity. They should challenge the authenticity claims of religious extremists by exposing their views as being ignorant of the charitable core messages contained in religious traditions. Additionally, they should share with others their beliefs in the importance of respecting the rights of others, thereby contributing to a sense that the rights of all will be respected. 106. Religious communities should feel encouraged to start initiatives of interreligious communication and cooperation, including the establishment of interreligious councils. A broad representation, including gender balance and participation of different generations, can ensure that larger populations can take active ownership of such initiatives. D. Recommendations to civil society organizations 107. Civil society organizations should continue to collect information about the situation of human rights and support people living under conditions of intimidation by following up on their cases. 108. The findings of civil society organizations should be more systematically used in their early warning function, notably in volatile situations. 109. Civil society should continue to play a role in overcoming a culture of silence in the face of violence committed in the name of religion, thereby sending a signal of solidarity to targeted individuals and groups. 110. Faith-based and secular civil society organizations should work together, including by creating common platforms, thereby demonstrating that a commitment to human rights can create solidarity across all religious, cultural and philosophical divides. 111. Human rights defenders operating in dangerous situations deserve particular attention and support by networks designed to defend the defenders. E. Recommendations to the media 112. In close collaboration with civil society organizations, representatives of the media should defend their independence, professionalism and integrity and address incidents of violence, their various root causes and the political circumstances in which they take place. 113. The media should help to bring about a culture of public discourse that is a prerequisite to checking hostile rumours and fearful narratives, which should be exposed to public scrutiny or counter-narratives in order to prevent them from escalating to fully-fledged conspiracy projections. 114. Careful fact-finding is the most important antidote to negative media campaigns that target religious minorities or other groups. Such fact-finding may also include a public analysis of collective historical traumas. 22