A/HRC/25/49 (f) Promoting civic engagement, critical thinking and stimulating discussions on the representation of the past, as well as contemporary challenges of exclusion and violence. 105. In this endeavour, States and other stakeholders should be cautious of watertight definitions between victims and perpetrators and ensure sufficient space for various narratives and perspectives to be expressed. However, they should neither engage in nor support policies of denial that prevent the construction of memorials or memorialization processes, nor should they build, support or finance works that may incite violence. 106. States and relevant stakeholders should: (a) Implement the memorial recommendations made by truth and reconciliation commissions, in accordance with international standards, provide technical expertise to national authorities when needed and include interested groups in discussions; (b) Ensure the transparency of memorialization processes and promote civil society participation at all stages, including in the decisionmaking process leading to the memorials. Memorialization processes should be centred on the victims and designed to empower them; (c) Promote critical thinking on past events by ensuring that memorialization processes are complemented by measures fostering historical awareness and support the implementation and outreach of highquality research projects, cultural interventions that encourage people’s direct engagement and educational initiatives; (d) Respect the freedom of opinion and expression of curators and refrain from imposing political control and putting financial pressure on them; (e) Respect the right to freedom of artistic expression and creativity in addressing memorialization issues and collaborate with artists. States should ensure the availability of public spaces for a diversity of narratives conveyed in artistic expressions and multiply opportunities for such narratives to engage with each other; (f) Encourage the memorialization of those who refused to participate in mass or grave violations of human rights, resisted oppression and helped each other across community divides; (g) Take into consideration the cultural dimension of memorial processes, including when repression has targeted indigenous peoples; (h) Address the need for memorialization for the victims of slavery, especially in places where they were taken captive and in places of destination; (i) Carefully weigh interventions by external actors to avoid the imposition of an external memory, while encouraging carefully planned interventions that can help groups emerge from vulnerability and acknowledge the wrongs of the past; (j) Map the country’s memorial landscape, adopting a collaborative approach with civil society, critically assess how past events and past oppressive regimes are remembered, inform the public about the symbolic 21