Considering that no country is free from racial discrimination in the administration and
functioning of the criminal justice system, regardless of the type of law applied or the judicial system
in force, whether accusatorial, inquisitorial or mixed,
Considering that the risks of discrimination in the administration and functioning of the
criminal justice system have increased in recent years, partly as a result of the rise in immigration and
population movements, which have prompted prejudice and feelings of xenophobia or intolerance
among certain sections of the population and certain law enforcement officials, and partly as a result
of the security policies and anti-terrorism measures adopted by many States, which among other
things have encouraged the emergence of anti-Arab or anti-Muslim feelings, or, as a reaction,
anti-Semitic feelings, in a number of countries,
Determined to combat all forms of discrimination in the administration and functioning of the
criminal justice system which may be suffered, in all countries of the world, by persons belonging to
racial or ethnic groups, in particular non-citizens - including immigrants, refugees, asylum-seekers
and stateless persons - Roma/Gypsies, indigenous peoples, displaced populations, persons
discriminated against because of their descent, as well as other vulnerable groups which are
particularly exposed to exclusion, marginalization and non-integration in society, paying particular
attention to the situation of women and children belonging to the aforementioned groups, who are
susceptible to multiple discrimination because of their race and because of their sex or their age,
Formulates the following recommendations addressed to States parties:
I. General steps
A. Steps to be taken in order to better gauge the existence and
extent of racial discrimination in the administration and
functioning of the criminal justice system; the search for
indicators attesting to such discrimination
1. Factual indicators
1.
States parties should pay the greatest attention to the following possible indicators of
racial discrimination:
(a)
The number and percentage of persons belonging to the groups referred to in the last
paragraph of the preamble who are victims of aggression or other offences, especially when they are
committed by police officers or other State officials;
(b)
The absence or small number of complaints, prosecutions and convictions relating to
acts of racial discrimination in the country. Such a statistic should not be viewed as necessarily
positive, contrary to the belief of some States. It may also reveal either that victims have inadequate
information concerning their rights, or that they fear social censure or reprisals, or that victims with
limited resources fear the cost and complexity of the judicial process, or that there is a lack of trust in
the police and judicial authorities, or that the authorities are insufficiently alert to or aware of offences
involving racism;
(c)
Insufficient or no information on the behaviour of law enforcement personnel
vis-à-vis persons belonging to the groups referred to in the last paragraph of the preamble;
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