Newsroom
The Open Society Justice Initiative pursues strategic litigation and engages in policy advocacy in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Read our News Releases and Advocacy Updates on our work.
French Courts Reject Constitutional Challenge to Discriminatory Police Stops
The French courts have turned down a constitutional challenge to police stops that have led to young men of African and Arab origin being singled out just because of the way they look.
December 26, 2013Survey Data Highlights Police Ethnic Bias in Spain
A new national survey released today in Madrid indicates that members of ethnic minorities in Spain are twice as likely to be stopped and checked by police than members of the majority population.
October 17, 2013Council of Europe Parliamentarians Endorse Tshwane Principals
The Open Society Justice Initiative welcomes the endorsement by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) of the Global Principals on National Security and the Right to Information.
October 02, 2013Dominican Republic Court Ruling Raises Mass Statelessness Threat
The Dominican Republic must ensure that none of its citizens is rendered stateless, after a court ruling that strips nationality from hundreds of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent.
October 02, 2013French Court to Hear Unprecedented Challenge to Police Ethnic Profiling
Thirteen young French men of North or Sub-Saharan African origin say that they have been subject to identity checks based on what they look like, rather than something they did.
July 02, 2013Italian Court Condemns Government's Roma Census as Discriminatory
An Italian court has found that govenment emergency actions targeting "nomads" constituted illegal discrimination against citizens of Roma origin.
July 02, 2013UN Rapporteur Highlights “Pervasive Problem” of Ethnic Profiling by Police in Spain
A report to the UN Human Rights Council urges Spain to ensure that its laws specifically prohibit racial profiling.
June 21, 2013France: Government Promises UN to End Ethnic Profiling
France should act on its promise to prohibit and prevent ethnic profiling and provide effective remedies to victims, the Open Society Justice Initiative and Human Rights Watch said today.
June 06, 2013