A/HRC/29/46 grounds of racial profiling, unjustified police surveillance and negative interactions with the police, disproportionate arrest rates, and their overrepresentation in the criminal justice system. D. Examples of initiatives taken at the national level to counter and challenge racial and ethnic profiling 43. In the section below, the Special Rapporteur presents an overview of a number of legislative, policy and institutional initiatives that have been taken by States, and other stakeholders including civil society actors, to counter and challenge racial and ethnic profiling. 1. National legal frameworks 44. The issue of racial and ethnic profiling has been addressed through national frameworks and different initiatives such as guides and recommendations published by Governments. In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 extended the prohibition on racial discrimination to the performance of public functions by public authorities, including the police, the border control agency and other government departments. Section 19B (1) of the Act now provides that “it is unlawful for a public authority in carrying out any functions of the authority to do any act which constitutes discrimination”.35 45. Also in the United Kingdom, the Equality Act 2010 unifies existing nondiscrimination laws under a single act and has established a legal framework to protect individual rights and advance equal opportunity. The Act applies to all organizations providing a public service, including the police service, customs and excise officers, tax officers, health and safety officers, immigration authorities, and the prisons and probation service.36 The aims of the Act are to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimization and other conducts prohibited under its provisions, to advance equality of opportunity for minority groups and to foster good relations between minorities and the rest of the community. 46. In 2003, the Government of the United States issued a guidance note in 2003 regarding interactions between different races and officers of the federal law enforcement agencies. The guidance note, which was updated in December 2014, originates from the Department of Justice37 and establishes mechanisms to combat racial and ethnic profiling in law enforcement. In regard to routine or spontaneous law enforcement decisions, the guidance note states that federal law enforcement officers may not use race or ethnicity to any degree in a specific suspect description. In conducting activities in connection with a specific investigation, federal law enforcement officers may consider race and ethnicity only to the extent that (a) there is trustworthy information; (b) the information is relevant to the locality or time frame; and (c) the information links persons of a particular race or ethnicity to an identified criminal incident, scheme, or organization. Where there are investigations or situations of threat regarding national security, catastrophic events or border control matters, federal law enforcement officers may not consider race or ethnicity 35 36 37 Available from http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/34/contents. Available from http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents. The Equality Act 2010 is law in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland is covered by separate legislation. Available from http://csgjusticecenter.org/law-enforcement/publications/guidance-for-federal-lawenforcement-agencies-regarding-the-use-of-race-ethnicity-gender-national-origin-religion-sexualorientation-or-gender-identity/. 13