A/70/335 measure levels of discrimination so that the impact of social and economic policy can be assessed. 27. In light of the provisions set out above, it is clear that the collec tion of disaggregated data on discrimination is an obligation of Member States as a matter of accountability in their capacity as primary duty bearers for the universal realization of human rights for all people under their jurisdiction. The following sections of the report provide details on the implementation, or lack of thereof, of equality data collection and disaggregation, good practices and indications of necessary safeguards for the collection of such data. IV. Disaggregating data to assess discrimination and foster equality A. Benefits of data disaggregation 28. As emphasized in the previous section, under the international human rights normative system, there is a strong mandate for the production of statistical information that goes beyond the traditional national aggregates and identifies the most deprived or vulnerable population while measuring inequality and discrimination. Hence, disaggregation of data aims to address the concern that if statistics are not broken down at the required level to support an analysis of discrimination and equality, such measurements would not adequately capture the enjoyment or violation of human rights across context-relevant population groups and would not therefore be reliable indicators in human rig hts assessments. 7 29. Disaggregation simply means that data should be broken down into small defined subgroups with identifiable criteria, such as ethnicity, national origin, religion or sex, among others. Hence, data broken down by ethnic groups will reve al inequalities that may exist in the realization of rights among and between different ethnic groups, or whether, for example, some fringes of society are more affected than others by hardship. 30. The Special Rapporteur would like to stress that because minority groups are not homogeneous, ethnic data should be further broken down along the other prohibited grounds of discrimination. For example, as noted by the previous mandate holder, following his visit to the United States of America in 2008, data disaggregated by race and ethnicity produced in paired testing (which allows for a comparison of treatment between whites and persons of colour when they have similar qualifications) has identified subtle forms of direct discrimination as regards housing (see A/HRC/11/36/Add.3). 31. The Special Rapporteur is of the view that the persistence of discrimination around the world can partly be imputed to a lack of implementation of international normative provisions at the national level. He would like to recall that the collection of ethnically disaggregated data and indicators is a fundamental prerequisite and an essential tool for identifying the persons and groups affected by discrimination, as it makes them more visible and helps to understand better the nature and extent to __________________ 7 10/24 See Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Indicators: a Guide to Measurement and Implementation (2012). 15-14106