A/HRC/29/46 authorities may exercise discretionary powers in areas such as identity checks or stop-andsearch procedures and to sanction any behaviour amounting to racial or ethnic profiling, not only through the use of criminal penalties but also by providing civil remedies to victims or by means of administrative or disciplinary sanctions. 30 39. In 2010, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights issued a comprehensive report on racial and ethnic profiling that made reference to European Union norms on the protection of personal data and non-discrimination. The Agency has warned that stop and search motivated “solely or mainly” on the basis of one’s race, ethnicity or religion constitutes discrimination and is unlawful. In its report, the Agency suggested that suspicion should be based on individual behaviour (that does not include physical appearance) and has warned about the damaging effects of ethnic profiling on community relations and about the inefficiency of the practice. The Agency recommended that officers receive training on racial and ethnic profiling and that their stop-and-search operations be monitored through the collection of racially disaggregated data, provided that anonymity and informed consent are guaranteed.31 40. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights is intended to promote and protect human rights and basic freedoms on the continent. This instrument contains provisions that contribute to the prohibition of racial and ethnic profiling, such as those on the right to freedom from discrimination (art. 2); the right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law (art. 3); the right to personal liberty and protection from arbitrary arrest (art. 6); and the right to freedom of movement (art. 12).32 41. The Organization of American States has several human rights instruments to combat discrimination. The American Convention on Human Rights contains provisions on the right to personal liberty (art. 7); the right to privacy (art. 11); freedom of movement and residence (art. 22); and the right to equal protection (art. 24). In 2006, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States set up a working group to draft the InterAmerican Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance, which was adopted by the Organization’s General Assembly on 5 June 2013 and provides a consolidated legal framework to eradicate racism and intolerance in the Americas, although at the time of writing the present report it had not entered into force.33 42. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, in 2009, defined racial and ethnic profiling as a tactic “adopted for supposed reasons of public safety and protection” that is “motivated by stereotypes based on race, colour, ethnicity, language, descent, religion, nationality, place of birth, or a combination of these factors, rather than on objective suspicions”, and that “tends to single out individuals or groups in a discriminatory way based on the erroneous assumption that people with such characteristics are prone to engage in specific types of crimes”.34 Similarly, the Inter-American Commission, in a report on the situation of persons of African descent, stated that such persons were more likely to be suspected, chased, prosecuted and condemned, compared to the rest of the population. The Commission has received reports detailing the selective arrest of such persons on the 30 31 32 33 34 12 European Union Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights, “Ethnic profiling” (CFRCDF.Opinion4.2006), p. 7. European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. Towards More Effective Policing: Understanding and Preventing Discriminatory Ethnic Profiling: A Guide (Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union, 2010), p. 64. African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Available from www.achpr.org/instruments/achpr/ (accessed on 2 February 2015). Available from http://www.oas.org/en/sla/dil/inter_american_treaties_A-68_racism.asp. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, report No. 26/09 (admissibility and merits), case 12.440, Wallace de Almeida (Brazil), 20 March 2009, para. 143.