February 2006 Governments need to demonstrate leadership by setting out a clear 'vision' of the role of police in building and sustaining an effective democratic multi-ethnic society. They need to consult widely in order to win multi-party and multi-ethnic consensus on their policies on policing and minorities, which may otherwise prove socially divisive or may become the target of political rivalries. The policies and the measures required to implement them need to be expressed in clear formal 'policy statements', which are publicly supported by political leaders and put into effect through legislative and other instruments. A policy on policing needs to be part of a wider national strategy to promote integration and to build a multi-ethnic society. This should include measures to encourage participation by persons belonging to minorities in the political and economic life of the state, as well as measures in fields such as education, language, political representation, broadcasting and tackling poverty and exclusion. Progress on broader aspects of integration will make it easier to introduce measures needed for multi-ethnic policing. A policy on minority policing needs to be an integral - though clearly targeted and identifiable - part of police development programmes. Good communication and cooperation based on trust is the key to effective policing of majority, as well as minority, communities. A repressive or 'control-oriented' approach, in which basic human and minority rights are ignored or violated, cannot provide a context in which good relations between police and minorities can flourish. The democratisation and professionalisation of the police are therefore essential preconditions for enabling police to play their role in building a successful democratic multi-ethnic society, as is the introduction of a service-oriented and human rightsbased approach to policing accompanied by 'community policing' at the local level. 2 For details of relevant international norms and standards on policing and human rights see the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement 0fficials (1979), available at http://www.uncjin.org/Standards/Conduct/ conduct.htmland the Council of Europe European Code of Police Ethics (2001), available at http://www.coe.int/ T/E/Legal_Affairs/ Legal _co-ope ratio n/Police_and_internal_security/Documents/_' ntro_Documents.asp #P234_.187. These documents set out clear international standards for professional policing that are in accordance with international human rights. These standards should serve as the basis for all policing policy and practice relating to minorities and inter-ethnic relations, and police leaders need to be vigilant in ensuring that such standards are observed at all times. The Rotterdam Charter Policing for a Multi-Ethnic Society (1996), available at http://www.rotterdamcharter.nl/, a legally non-binding document which was produced jointly by representatives of police, municipal authorities and NGOs from across Europe, also provides general guidance based on practical experience. Policing policy relating to minorities should also take account of the more general rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights and in the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (1994), available at http://www.coe.int/T/E/ human_ rights/minorities/. 2 ^0