A/HRC/43/47/Add.1 A. Disaggregated data 28. Spain, along with some other countries, does not systematically collect disaggregated data on its population’s languages, cultures or religion, but does collect population data regarding gender and nationality (distinguishing between citizens of Spain and foreigners). This approach does not result in the precise information on the population that is necessary to design better-targeted, effective and evidenced-based government policies and programmes. As the Special Rapporteur has maintained on previous country missions, such data allows Governments to plan programmes so as to reach those most in need. This is particularly true with respect to measuring the impact that policies and programmes have on those who are most vulnerable and marginalized, including minorities. 29. This approach seems to be aimed mainly at protecting personal data and grounded in misplaced privacy considerations. Personal information can be removed from census data and other useful disaggregated data collections, as is done for the data collected on gender in many other countries. As some international and European organizations have noted, a non-disaggregated approach makes it particularly difficult to effectively identify those experiencing discrimination and to adequately build evidence-based policies that guarantee the provision of access to a variety of services and full compliance with human rights, even basic rights such as education. Authorities need to pursue and expand their efforts to improve practices for obtaining reliable data on equality, disaggregated by ethnic or national origin, language, religion and culture, in full respect of the relevant international data protection standards, in order to increase the effectiveness of measures designed to promote the full and effective equality of persons belonging to national minorities. 30. For example, clear and objective assessments of the impact of the different educational models using immersion, bilingual or multilingual teaching that are implemented throughout Spain would be greatly beneficial to dispel inaccurate and unhelpful claims regarding the pedagogical impact of those models on academic performance generally and regarding competence in the national and co-official languages more specifically. It appears that the evaluation institute under the Ministry of Education stopped collecting such empirical evidence in 2010. 31. The view of the Special Rapporteur, and of most international observers, is that disaggregated data is indispensable to ensure that positive measures to address human rights issues, including those of minorities, are effective. It was made clear to him, particularly by members of civil society, that the lack of data collection is viewed with frustration and as preventing concrete progress on human rights issues involving Roma, people of African descent, migrants and others. 32. The Special Rapporteur also recommends that, in the field of education, the evaluation institute under the Ministry of Education resume the collection of data on levels of competency in the acquisition of fluency in Castilian and co-official languages throughout the country. B. Law enforcement and judicial authorities 33. A number of minority representatives from particularly vulnerable or marginalized groups, such as the Roma community, people of African descent and migrants, vividly expressed to the Special Rapporteur during the mission how they remained distrustful and at times fearful of police forces and even the judiciary. While for a few migrants this may be connected to their precarious situation, if their stay in the country is not legal, others shared stories of ethnic profiling, harassment, ridicule and even violence from forces and officials who are supposed to protect. While ethnic profiling is not condoned officially by State authorities, it would seem that its practice has unfortunately not entirely disappeared. The Special Rapporteur was in this respect also informed that there continue to be large numbers of complaints to the Ombudsperson alleging excessive stop-and-search checks. 34. Although praiseworthy steps towards eliminating ethnic profiling by the police have been taken, particularly in the training of national police, more such programmes need to be set in motion to more effectively and specifically address the phenomenon, which was described as endemic by the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent in the 2018 report on its mission to Spain (A/HRC/39/69/Add.2, para. 19). The Working Group 7