A/HRC/29/46 actions of law enforcement agencies, particularly in connection with discretionary actions such as identity checks and stop and search. Data collection can serve as a tool to increase the transparency and accountability of law enforcement agencies. In Europe, the United Kingdom is the only country to systematically gather national data on law enforcement and ethnicity under legal mandate. British law requires police forces in England and Wales to gather ethnic data on police stop-and-search practices.60 The Suffolk County and West Yorkshire police forces issue a receipt to persons who have been stopped, which records details of the reason for the stop, and the identity both of the person concerned and of the police officer. A similar initiative has been developed in the municipality of Fuenlabrada, Spain, with the support of the European Commission. Such data collection can be a tool to reduce ethnic profiling and to improve trust in the police within minority communities. In the United States, in New York, the Legal Aid Society has launched the “Cop Accountability Program”, a database containing information about wrongdoing by New York City police officers, which was set up to help public defenders at court hearings to contest the credibility of police officers who have engaged in misconduct and misbehaviour. Using such information to monitor the performance of law enforcement agents can reduce their individual discretionary powers and oblige them to rely on objective indicators of suspicion rather than on subjective factors, when deciding whom to stop. This good practice has been shown to lead to increased police efficiency. IV. Conclusions and recommendations 63. Racial and ethnic profiling in law enforcement constitutes a violation of human rights for the individuals and groups targeted by these practices, because of its fundamentally discriminatory nature and because it exacerbates discrimination already suffered as a result of ethnic origin or minority status. Furthermore, racial and ethnic profiling harms already tenuous relationships between law enforcement agencies and minority communities, at a time when members of minority communities need to be reassured about their inclusion and participation in society. Unfortunately, the use of racial and ethnic profiling has increased following terrorist attacks in the United States and in Europe. The practice has targeted particular individuals and communities solely on the basis of their race, ethnicity, national origin or religion, and has attracted disproportionate attention from law enforcement agencies at a time when their resources are scarce. 64. Combating the use of racial and ethnic profiling in law enforcement constitutes a new and complex challenge. The Special Rapporteur nonetheless stresses that the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, other international human rights instruments such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and certain regional instruments referred to earlier provide a comprehensive framework to combat the use of racial and ethnic profiling in law enforcement. To that end, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the continued interest and attention of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which has issued useful general recommendations to States parties in this regard. 65. The Special Rapporteur notes the numerous legal and policy efforts that have been initiated at the regional and national levels to address the use of racial and ethnic profiling and to offer viable and credible alternatives. Legislative measures are central to any strategy to combat discrimination and racism by law enforcement agencies; for 60 18 Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991.