FRA: end discrimination and ethnic profiling

Racism and discrimination during police checks are still common in European countries. This is the conclusion of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)in ‘Your Rights Matter: Police Stops’, which shows that immigrants and people from ethnic minorities are more likely to be stopped by the police, compared to the rest of the population. 

In particular, men, young people, ethnic minorities, Muslims and people who do not identify as heterosexual are more likely to experience discriminatory practices. Additionally, ethnic minorities are often subjected to abuse and violence during police stops and police are more likely to ask them for identification when compared to the rest of the population. This causes a sense of mistrust from those who are subject to ethnic profiling towards the police and other authorities. 

In addition to these worrying data, the Fundamental Rights Report 2023 concludes that ethnic profiling still exists in Europe. 

In light of the concerns raised by these findings, the FRA has launched a call to end discrimination and ethnic profiling. The FRA calls on states to take concrete measures to prevent and combat the phenomenon, which includes discrimination, harassment and violence against ethnic minorities. Michael O'Flaherty, the FRA director, emphasizes that a person's skin color, clothing or religion should not be a reason for police targeting and no one should fear police checks. This is why states must fight racism and strive to build a society based on trust. To this end, the FRA has published a Guide on how to avoid unlawful profiling.