women have the same employment opportunities as men, including application
of the same criteria for selection in matters of employment. What difficulties
does this create for recruitment into a police agency? How can these difficulties
be overcome?
07. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 6) and other human rights
instruments require everyone to have recognition as a person before the law.
What are the dangers for an individual who has no legal status “as a person
before the law”?
08. Why is it important in the protection and promotion of human rights for those
rights to be regarded as inalienable and universal?
09. While most forms of discrimination against people are violations of human
rights, discrimination that favours certain categories of people (such as women
and children) is encouraged and sometimes required. In what areas of law
enforcement is this “positive” form of discrimination relevant and necessary?
10. Draft an article for a Police Discipline Code that makes “discrimination” an
offence under the Code.
Exercise
Round-table discussion on non-discrimination
Ethnic discrimination has been at the core of the Exland conflict since colonial
times. Political, economic and social advantage rests with the Vallians, while the
Highlandians have long suffered from the status of second-class citizens. As governmental institutions, including the police, are dominated by Vallians, and ethnic tensions between the groups remain high, Highlandians have reportedly been the victims
of several cases of discriminatory treatment by police, and police violence against
Highlandians is notoriously common. Thus, any hopes for peace and reconciliation in
the country will be short-lived unless solutions can be found to the problem of discrimination.
The round table will explore the following questions:
1. Why is the principle of non-discrimination especially important in the context of
law enforcement agencies and operations?
2. Why is law enforcement more effective when it has the support of the entire community?
3. Why do minority communities sometimes register concern about “under-policing” and sometimes about “over-policing”?
4. What can be done in the immediate term in Exland to combat discrimination within the police services (internal discrimination) and in the way that the police deal
with the community (external discrimination)?
5. What can be done to improve the situation in Exland in the long term?
6. What do the international standards say about non-discrimination in policing?
7. What course of action should be taken where a police officer is heard using racial
or ethnic slurs or telling racist jokes on duty? Why?
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