Law enforcement agencies across Europe continue to engage in racial profiling, the Council of Europe’s human rights monitoring body warned on May 28th, Africanews via Euronews reported.
In its report, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) said that racial profiling remains common both in stop-and-search policing and at border checks. The practice involves targeting individuals based on ethnicity, skin color, religion or nationality rather than reasonable suspicion.
“No member state of the Council of Europe is really immune,” ECRI chair Bertil Cottier told Euronews. Concerns have also been raised about the rise of facial recognition technology in law enforcement. While the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act, which came into force in August 2024 sets strict parameters, conduct differs widely among member states.
France, for example, has used facial recognition regularly in public spaces, and Belgium is considering to use the technology to track convicted or suspected offenders. However, the Council of Europe cited research suggesting a high risk of misidentification and discrimination. “We fear that if new technologies are abused, it will enhance the problem,” said Cottier.
To address this, the Council has used a framework convention on AI and human rights. A committee is currently drafting a specific recommendation on AI and discrimination. Although the ECRI report does not single out countries, previous publications have highlighted concerns in several states.
In France, the ECRI has repeatedly recommended a system to document identity checks by police. A roundtable held last year with French officials, law enforcement, and NGOs featured talks about the recommendation. But it has not been implemented. In 2023, France’s highest administrative court ruled that the country was not tackling racial profiling.
The report warns that racial profiling undermines public trust and harms law enforcement legitimacy. It “generates a feeling of humiliation and injustice in society,” the ECRI wrote. It added that profiling “jeopardis[es] the work of officers who comply with law and ethics standards.”
Italy also came under scrutiny. An ECRI visit noted instances of racial profiling, particularly targeting Roma communities and people of African descent. The Commission urged Italy to conduct an independent study on the issue. The government dismissed the suggestion.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni defended the police, while Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said the ECRI are “a useless body.”
Cottier said the recommendation was not an accusation but a call for assessment. “We don’t want to counter the police. We know that we need them and we want to trust them,” Cottier stressed.
Africanews via Euronews
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