or belief groups, the disruption or prohibition of worship even in private homes, censorship of religious literature, and imprisonment of those who object to military service on religious groups. These restrictions may be a direct result of state legislation and policies; in other cases, they may stem from a lack of protective action from state authorities, often in the face of a dominant religious majority. As part of its response, the ODIHR has formed an Advisory Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief, now consisting of over 50 experts, which acts as a consultative body on issues that include legislation, education and training on international standards pertaining to freedom of religion or belief, inter-faith dialogue, and tolerance education. 71. The strong influence that the media can have in either countering or exacerbating misperceptions, prejudices, and biases has been evident in recent years, as has the rapid internationalization of what might initially seem to be isolated incidents. Throughout the OSCE region, the Internet is increasingly being used as an instrument for spreading hate and inciting violent attacks against individuals. The rise of anti-Muslim, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic, xenophobic, racist, homophobic and other discriminatory discourse by political leaders and the growing tendency for such discourse to be used by mainstream political parties has also contributed to a climate of intolerance in some participating States. Overall, as confirmed in numerous consultations in the preparation of this report, there remain considerable shortcomings in the implementation of the body of existing OSCE commitments. u Participating States should demonstrate more focused political will to implement all human dimension commitments in good faith, bilaterally and through international fora or instruments. They should, as a matter of urgency, address the challenges in the areas outlined in this report, in particular with regard to: (1) Democratic elections; (2) Freedom of assembly and association; (3) Human rights and countering terrorism; (4) Human rights defenders and national human rights institutions; (5) Involuntary migration: the challenge of refugees and IDPs; (6) Threats to the independence of the media; (7) Aggressive nationalism, racism, chauvinism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. u The OSCE should enhance the use of existing procedures and instruments, in particular by: (1) Intensifying the use of the peer review for more systematic review of implementation of human dimension commitments in the framework of the PC, thereby making full use of the expertise and assistance of the OSCE institutions and structures; (2) Making optimal use of the role of the Chairman-in-Office in informing the PC of serious cases of alleged non-implementation of human dimension commitments; (3) Reviewing the effectiveness of the Vienna and Moscow Mechanisms; (4) Strengthening the effectiveness of its action plans by ensuring more systematic periodic reviews, which could lead to an annual review at the Ministerial Council. u All 56 States should ensure that the public is provided with maximum access to information about human dimension commitments. 24 Common Responsibility: Commitments and Implementation