A/70/212 H. Minority victims and witnesses 1. Access to justice for victims 63. Minority victims of crimes are entitled to equal access to justice and reparation; indeed, the special needs of minorities should be taken into account in the provision of victim services and assistance. 90 In practice however, these rights are often not respected or fulfilled. 91 64. Police may not investigate crimes committed against minorities with the diligence accorded crimes against other victims, whether owing to deliberate discrimination or because more subtle prejudices negatively impact their assessment of the complainants’ credibility. 92 This problem can be exacerbated when police officers are accused. 93 65. Minority victims may be reluctant to report the crime to police, 94 owing to a history of negative experiences with the authorities, lack of faith in the justice system, or lack of knowledge of their rights or lack of practical information such as on where and how to make a complaint. They may fear that bringing themselve s to the attention of the authorities will generate more suspicion and result in persecution of themselves, their family or their community. They may have a fear of reprisals from the perpetrators of the crime owing to a lack of confidence that authorities will protect them, pursue the investigation or take the perpetrators into custody. Some may fear deportation, particularly if they do not have recognized legal status in the country. 66. Members of a minority may also view the justice system as a whole a s “alien” and to be avoided, particularly if the State has failed to make efforts to guarantee effective participation of the minority by ensuring: that minorities are represented in the police, judiciary, prosecution and legal profession; that law enforce ment agencies have an accessible and welcoming physical presence in the community; and that practices and symbols of the justice system are inclusive of the minority. 67. Multiple forms of discrimination which may further curtail access to justice can also arise from within the minority community. 95 Minority women may face multiple stigmas in relation to their ethnic or religious background, their sex, and the nature of the crime of which they were the victim. In India, for instance, Dalit women subjected to violence reportedly face unnecessary delays and pressure to __________________ 90 91 92 93 94 95 18/27 Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, paras . 3 and 17; and OSCE Recommendation 20 on Policing in Multi -Ethnic Societies. See, e.g., CERD/C/MAR/CO/17-18 (CERD, 2010); CAT/C/SWE/CO/6-7 (CAT, 2014); CERD/C/THA/CO/1-3 (CERD, 2012); CCPR/C/URY/CO/5 (Human Rights Committee, 2013); CERD/C/TCD/CO/16-18 (CERD, 2013); CERD/C/CHL/CO/19-21 (CERD, 2013); CCPR/C/BOL/CO/3 (Human Rights Committee, 2013); and Minority Rights Group International, “No change in sight: the situation of religious minorities in post-Mubarak Egypt”, December (2013), pp. 18-19. See communications received by the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, PAK 14/2014 and IND 4/2014, on allegations of police neglect of minority women. See, for example, European Court of Human Rights cases condemning lack of investigations in respect of incidents between police and Romas: Stoica v. Romania (04.03.2008), Mizigàrovà v. Slovakia (14.12.2010), and Fedorchenko and Lozenko v. Ukraine (20.09.2012). European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, EU-MIDIS Data in Focus Report: Minorities as Victims of Crime (Vienna, 2012). CERD/C/ECU/CO/20-22 (CERD, 2012), para. 23. 15-12578