A/HRC/37/55 face many challenges. One such challenge concerns the risk of being politicized or seen as aligned with a party to a conflict. This is particularly true if funds for initiatives come from public agencies. In some cases, artists and cultural workers have been able to increase their credibility, reinforce the legitimacy of their actions and protect themselves from instrumentalization by grounding their work in cultural rights and human rights norms and standards. 65. In the aftermath of violent conflict, in deeply divided societies, in societies governed by repressive and/or fundamentalist regimes or where fundamentalist and extremist nonState actors are prevalent, artists, cultural workers and all participants in their actions face risks of harm because of their visibility and the attention that arts and cultural projects invite. Artists face risks of exile, imprisonment, torture and assassination; successful and visible institutions face risks of extremist attacks. 44 They need to conduct careful assessments of risk impacts on the choice of venues and security arrangements for the organizers themselves, but also for participants who might need to travel through zones unsafe for them. Some artists and cultural workers engaging in such endeavours function as, and see themselves as, human rights defenders; their efforts should be fully protected in line with the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Declaration on Human Rights Defenders). 66. Artists and cultural workers engaged in this field may face increased difficulty in communicating about their work. This comes in part from the fact that the methods and language used in one context can often be misunderstood elsewhere, and that the impact of their work may be difficult to measure using traditional indicators. Artists and cultural workers too often feel isolated, without opportunities for rigorous, critical reflection, for knowledge sharing and reflection on ethical dilemmas, all of which are crucial for the advancement of their own practice and for the field. This is further accentuated by the lack of appropriate and shared assessment schemes to evaluate their actions and demonstrate the positive contribution they can make to society. 45 67. Many artists, cultural workers and cultural organizations — even those engaged in globally recognized, groundbreaking and effective initiatives — face enormous difficulties in generating needed financial resources, especially for the long-term commitments that are necessary to address sensitive issues and contribute to trust building. They may also face threats to their livelihoods, economic rights and social security. 68. Accordingly, international agencies, States and local governments, transitional justice entities such as truth commissions, NGOs and cultural institutions need to recognize the potential contributions of artists and cultural workers to creating, developing and maintaining societies in which all human rights can find increased realization and take steps to support their efforts as well as to create more conducive conditions for them to do their creative work, including full respect for their human rights. B. Enabling and maximizing the positive impact of socially engaged cultural initiatives 69. Under what conditions can actions in the fields of arts and culture make the greatest contribution to the exercise of cultural rights and to achieving more inclusive, peaceful and human rights-respecting societies? The following are a few significant contributing factors to be considered. 44 45 14 A recent example of attacks on artists working in this field, their audiences and the cultural institutions that host them was witnessed on 11 November 2017 in Bangui, when 7 persons were killed and 20 injured, including 6 musicians, when persons on motorcycles threw grenades into the audience at a café where a peace and reconciliation concert was being held. See Freemuse, “Central African Republic: seven killed, 20 injured after concert attack”, 16 November 2017. Some efforts have been made to gather scientific research demonstrating the impact of artistic and cultural work. See culturalcase.org for examples.