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Challenging Police Profiling in France
Fifteen people have filed civil law suits against the French state for racial profiling—the first major legal action in France to address the longstanding police use of identity checks that target visible minorities.
French Police Ethnic Profiling Faces First Court Challenge
Thirteen young men have today launched a historic legal challenge to the systematic use by French police of discriminatory identity checks that disproportionately focus on people of African or Arab ethnicity.
Case Watch: Fighting Negative Stereotyping as a Positive State Obligation
A ruling from the European Court of Human Rights supports freedom of expression over the right to private life, but argues that states must nevertheless do their utmost to combat negative racial-stereotyping.
New Report Tells Spain to "Stop Racism, Not People"
A new report exposes the prevalence of racial profiling in Spain, painting a powerful portrait of the indignities suffered by those who do not "look Spanish" and of the official policies that encourage rather than curtail ethnic profiling.
Riots in England: Inquiry Falls Short on Police Ethnic Profiling
A UK inquiry has identified police “stop and search” tactics as a factor that contributed to this summer's rioting. But it failed to offer strong recommendations on how to fix the problem.
Ethnic Profiling Challenge in France Moves Forward
A groundbreaking constitutional challenge to the widespread use of ethnic profiling by French police took a major step forward this week, as judges from across the country agreed to refer cases heard before local courts to the highest court in...
Ethnic Profiling: A Background Paper for the Working Party on Terrorism
As the European Union weighs its counterterrorism policy, the Open Society Foundations have published a background paper on ethnic profiling for the EU Working Party on Terrorism.
How France Can Lead the Battle Against Ethnic Profiling in Europe
A constitutional challenge in France could force the government to enact new laws that will safeguard against ethnic profiling by police, making France the only country in continental Europe to do so.
Advocates Launch Constitutional Challenge to Ethnic Profiling by French Police
An unprecedented constitutional challenge to the widespread use of ethnic profiling by French police has been launched this week by more than 50 French lawyers, with the support of the Open Society Justice Initiative.
Ethnic Profiling Is Bad Policing: Q & A with Rachel Neild
For several years, the Open Society Justice Initiative has been documenting profiling by police in Europe. Rachel Neild and colleagues are now taking the fight to the courts.
The Problem of Ethnic Profiling in Europe
This fact sheet explains the problem of ethnic profiling in Europe, and shows that the practice is wasteful as well as ineffective in fighting and preventing crime.
France: Ethnic Profiling Challenge
In France, a coalition of advocates is mounting a constitutional challenge to the practice of ethnic profiling. These two short publications summarize the Open Society Justice Initiative's work on the case and the basis of the challenge.
Pressure Grows on Spain Over Racial Profiling
The UN has put the Spanish government on notice: Police who engage in ethnic profiling are violating the human right to nondiscrimination.
Ruling Against Ethnic Profiling in Spain Must Be Implemented
The Open Society Justice Initiative and Women's Link Worldwide are pressing the Spanish human rights ombudsman to follow up on the government's failure to comply with the UN Human Rights Committee’s landmark ruling in the case of Williams v. Spain.
Ethnic Profiling in Spain Persists, Despite Landmark Ruling
Despite proof that police are singling out people who "look like" immigrants for identity checks in Spain, government officials continue to deny that such practices even exist.
Fact Sheet on Ethnic Profiling in Europe
This fact sheet, prepared by European Network Against Racism and the Open Society Institute, explains the practice of ethnic profiling across Europe.
UN Human Rights Committee Finds Discrimination in Racial Profiling
The UN Human Rights Committee became the first international tribunal to declare that police identity checks motivated by race or ethnicity run counter to the international human right to nondiscrimination, in a case filed by the Open Society...
Williams v. Spain
With Women’s Link Worldwide and SOS-Racismo Madrid, the Open Society Justice Initiative filed a complaint to the United Nations Human Rights Committee on behalf of Rosalind Williams regarding a case of racial profiling by a Spanish police officer.
New Data Reveals Paris Police Discriminate Against Minorities
Police officers in Paris consistently stop people on the basis of ethnicity and dress rather than on the basis of suspicious individual behavior, according to a report released by the Open Society Justice Initiative.
What’s Wrong with Ethnic Profiling?
Ethnic profiling is illegal in Europe. It is ineffective in apprehending criminals. It is counterproductive in the campaign against terrorism. But police officers across Europe continue to use it.