Ruling Against Ethnic Profiling in Spain Must Be Implemented

On October 19, 2010, the Open Society Justice Initiative and Women’s Link Worldwide filed a complaint with the office of the Spanish human rights ombudsman, the Defensor del Pueblo, asking it to follow up on the government’s compliance with the UN Human Rights Committee’s decision in the Rosalind Williams v. Spain case.

More than a year after the Human Rights Committee issued its landmark judgment finding that police identity checks motivated by race or ethnicity run counter to the international human right to nondiscrimination, the Spanish government has yet to comply with any of the Committee’s recommendations. Previous attempts to gain the government’s compliance have fallen on deaf ears, with government officials arguing that ethnic profiling in the stop and search of ethnic minorities for the purposes of immigration is no longer a problem, current evidence to the contrary.

Women’s Link and the Justice Initiative are seeking the ombudsman’s assistance in getting the Spanish government to publicly apologize to Williams without delay, offer her an effective remedy, and take meaningful steps to ensure that its officials do not repeat the kinds of acts condemned in this case.