A/HRC/29/46
the Bureau for the Implementation of Equal Treatment NGO48 has successfully challenged,
in the administrative courts, the practice of identity checks carried out by the border police
in trains and train stations solely on the basis of racial and ethnic criteria and in a
discretionary and discriminatory manner. Finally, in Australia in 2013, the Victoria Police
made groundbreaking announcements that it would invite communities to comment about
its practices and then undertake a self-examination, set up a policy on field contacts, which
would include data collection, provide cross-cultural training to its agents, and publish a
public report on the results of the exercise.49
4.
Training and awareness-raising
56.
The Special Rapporteur was made aware of different examples of training
undertaken by law enforcement agencies to eliminate racial and ethnic profiling carried out
by their staff. However, it is important to note that this practice is difficult to eradicate by
training measures alone, and that these should be combined with other measures to reduce
the use of profiling, such as good supervisory practices and clear operational procedures.
Diversity and sensitivity training can also be found in other parts of the public sector,
beyond law enforcement. Cultural sensitivity training seeks to educate officers about the
cultures of specific ethnic groups with whom they have frequent contact but with whom
they lack personal familiarity.50
57.
In Ireland, and in Northern Ireland (United Kingdom), the “Diversity Works”
training, developed jointly by the two police agencies, provides intercultural and diversity
training for law enforcement officers. In Sweden, officers receive “specific police tactics”
training, which addresses racial and ethnic profiling and explains applicable standards and
practical examples to eliminate the practice.51 As regards Belgium, the Belgian Federal
Judicial Police has two experts on Islam (trained in Islamic and Arabic studies), who
provide advice and training to police officers with counter-terrorism responsibilities and
encourage them not to rely on stereotypes or profiling when making assessments of
individuals or organizations.52
58.
The Special Rapporteur was informed that another set of measures that have been
taken by some States concern policy audits to identify institutional factors that may be
driving or permitting racial and ethnic profiling. Such audits provide policy
recommendations for addressing racial and ethnic profiling. They give law enforcement
institutions the opportunity to review their policies both force-wide and at the local level, to
learn how policies are translated into practice, to assess their effectiveness, and to measure
their impact on different communities. 53
59.
Such audits have been used to address ethnic profiling by police forces in Canada
and in the United Kingdom, more specifically to review the use of stop-and-search powers
by these law enforcement agencies. In Northern Ireland, the Police Service is required to
consult on the impact of all changes to policies; those found to have a disproportionate
48
49
50
51
52
53
16
Büro zur Umsetzung von Gleichbehandlung e.V.
See http://www.policeaccountability.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Equality-is-not-thesame_Victoria-Police-Response-to-Community-Consultation-and-Reviews2.pdf.
Open Society Foundations, Reducing Ethnic Profiling in the European Union: A Handbook of Good
Practices, p.125.
Ibid.
Open Society Foundations, Reducing Ethnic Profiling in the European Union: A Handbook of Good
Practices, p. 133.
Ibid., p. 135.