A/HRC/31/72 the administration of justice. Although most States have general legislation to this effect, minorities are often caught between formal equality before the law and the courts and structural discrimination that manifests itself through distinctions, exclusions, restrictions or preferences that result in differential treatment and the accentuation of inequalities. 16. Effective counter-terrorism measures and the protection of human rights, including minority rights, are complementary and mutually reinforcing objectives that must be pursued together as part of States’ duty to protect individuals within their jurisdiction. Therefore, States should ensure that all counter-terrorism measures, including anti-terrorism legislation and increased police, military and intelligence operations, comply with international human rights standards and do not disproportionately target members of minority communities or groups purely on the basis of minority identity or membership or perceived membership in a minority group. IV. Thematic recommendations for States A. Data collection and studies 17. The failure of many States to collect and analyse data that is sufficiently disaggregated remains a fundamental barrier to progress in the area of combating discrimination against minorities in the criminal justice system. This lacuna impedes the production of qualitative and authoritative diagnoses that provide objective information regarding the involvement of persons belonging to minority groups in all aspects of the administration of justice. While data can highlight existing challenges for States in specific areas of the administration of criminal justice, it can also be used as an important indicator of progress achieved by States. 18. Data should be collected and used with due consideration for the principles of selfidentification and consent. In that regard, it is important to recognize that how an individual defines themself may be very different to how government officials or researchers may define them. In keeping with international best practice, respondents should always be given the option of indicating multiple or no ethnic affiliations. This is particularly important in law enforcement operations, which carry the genuine risk of the misuse of ethnic data to facilitate racial and ethnic profiling. Furthermore, since the perception of the mainly majoritarian law enforcement officers has often been found to drive racial profiling, such perceptions should be part of the data collected. 19. States should ensure that robust guarantees for data protection and disclosure control measures are in place. The nature of the data to be collected should be based on public participation and understanding of the implications of how such data could potentially be used. To this end, States should consider establishing appropriate data protection institutions or bodies with supervisory authority to ensure that the process of collection, recording, storing, retrieving, sending, blocking or erasing data upholds the strict privacy rules governing these activities. 20. States should ensure that such data and studies are made publicly available and can be easily interpreted and accessed by all potential users, including minority individuals and groups. 21. States should generate adequate protocols to treat data that demonstrate that certain minority groups are overrepresented among persons arrested and imprisoned for criminal offences, in order to ensure the data do not propagate negative stereotypes that associate minority identity with criminality. This is important as overrepresentation of minorities in 5