aftermath of such inequitable clashes with the criminal justice system is often enduring cycles of poverty and disenfranchisement because of the already existing vulnerabilities of minorities. Thus, an arrest, even without a conviction, can further jeopardise already scarce opportunities for jobs, livelihoods and life chances. The alarming statistics which demonstrate that blacks are several times more likely to be stopped and searched, resulting in an arrest (even if thereafter released for innocence), coupled with other severe deficiencies in the justice system, such as prolonged periods in pre -trial detention (itself a violation of human rights); and harsher sentences, therefore illuminate serious situations of violations of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, which must be addressed. For example, in New Orleans 90% of those arrested are Afro-American males under 30! After incarceration, the vulnerability and acute negative impact on livelihoods are even more severe. This situation, we were told in a recent hearing, is being addressed in the US through special livelihood trial programs, but is in the infancy stage. Just as serious are laws which have other indirect discriminatory impacts, such as moves to expand the disenfranchisement of persons because of criminal, conviction, a troubling problem in the US. In an inherently inequitable criminal justice system, such laws in effect target minorities who lose core rights of citizenship. Broad approach While the legal framework contains broad principles of equality to which the criminal justice must conform, this is not sufficient to guarantee non-discrimination. There is need to have laws which