Racial profiling is racism: Statement by Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March)
Strasbourg, 19.03.2008 - “Racial discrimination not only hurts its victims. It is also damaging to the society which harbours it. A society which ignores, tolerates, encourages or practices discrimination, on racial or any other grounds, is dysfunctional and riddled with risks.
Last year, a high level international conference (*), organised by the Council of Europe, identified discrimination and especially racial discrimination as something which is itself conducive to the spread of political extremism and violence. The conference concluded that anti-terrorist measures which are discriminatory on grounds of race, language, religion, nationality or ethnic origin are counterproductive and ineffective in the long term.
Our Governments have the responsibility to protect us from terrorists, but to do so effectively, they must act within the law and respect the fundamental values of our societies. Non-discrimination is one of these values.
Governments must be particularly vigilant to avoid racial discrimination when they deal with the entry and stay of foreign citizens on national territory – which includes border checks, the issue of residence and work permits, expulsion, extradition and asylum procedures.”
