6 December 2016: Round table on ethnic profiling: towards EU guidelines for fair and efficient policing?

6 December 2016 - 17:30-19:45

European Parliament, Brussels, Room A1E-1

Co-hosted by MEPs Judith Sargentini (Greens/EFA, NL), Cécile Kyenge (S&D, IT), Afzal Khan (S&D, UK) and Sajjad Karim (ECR, UK)

Ethnic profiling by police in Europe is a widespread form of discrimination that violates international and EU human rights norms. It refers to the use by the police, security, immigration or customs officials of generalisations based on race, ethnicity, religion or national origin - rather than individual behaviour or objective evidence - as the basis for suspicion in directing discretionary law enforcement actions.

The goal of this round table, co-organised by ENAR, the Open Society Foundations and the European Parliament’s Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup, is to have a multi-stakeholder discussion on the problems and experience of ethnic profiling and exchange on good practices towards EU guidelines for fair and efficient policing.

The context has changed dramatically in the last few years, highlighting the need to better protect minority communities in Europe and improve policing. A number of recent developments would support the need for a renewed discussion at EU level:

• Terrorist attacks in Brussels, Paris and elsewhere, and the assertions about an elevated terrorism threat have led to the development of counter-terrorism and counter-radicalisation policies which have increased ethnic profiling.
• Responses to increase in migrants and asylum seekers flux have led to enhanced border controls and stricter return policies towards undocumented.
• Communities-police relations seem to deteriorate in a context of social protest, counter-terrorism and stricter migration policies.
• Renewed debates at national level on stop and search practices and solutions, including in France and the Netherlands
• The Dutch Presidency made inroads on addressing police discriminatory practices by the mention of ethnic profiling in Council Conclusions on the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and by proposing that the newly created High level Working Group on racism, Xenophobia and other forms of Intolerance would tackle these practices.

 Concept note and draft agenda

Registration is now closed for this event.

Contact person: claire@enar-eu.org