Ethnic Profiling: A Background Paper for the Working Party on Terrorism

The European Union is in the midst of continuing discussions about its counterterrorism policy, adopting its first Internal Security Strategy in 2010, and then, in 2011, an action plan, the “European Security Model.”

The strategy underlines the need to develop preventive and anticipatory tools based on the respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law. The EU has stressed that, in matters of counterterrorism, measures should focus on future attacks, by addressing and disrupting criminal networks and addressing radicalization and recruitment.

In this context, the Open Society Justice Initiative, working with the Open Society Institute-Brussels, weighed in on the debate, publishing a background paper on ethnic profiling for the EU's Working Party on Terrorism. The paper emphasizes steps the EU could take to ensure counterterrorism efforts do not undermine antidiscrimination norms and feed radicalization in targeted communities.

The paper explores the various manifestations of ethnic profiling (including in the field of counter-radicalization), its negative impact on communities and on counterterrorism efforts, and highlights projects piloting remedies to ethnic profiling, including the Justice Initiative's ongoing work to develop more effective police stop and search practices.

The full report is available for download.