Ronnie Fay Introduction to Data Seminar November 4th 2013 Good morning everyone. On behalf of Pavee Point Traveller & Roma Centre and the Dept of Applied Social Studies in Maynooth I would like to welcome you all here this morning to this second seminar in our series on Promoting Equality through the use of Ethnic Data. At the outset I want to acknowledge and thank the Dept of Justice who have provided funding towards the hosting of this seminar as well as the first one we organised last June. In Pavee Point we develop our analysis and learn from best international and European practice in this area through working with colleagues from Roma organisations and linking with networks and organisations working to combat racism throughout Europe. We also gain insights from policies and developments undertaken by the Council of Europe and through United Nations mechanisms and Anastasia Crickley, Head of Department in Applied Social Studies and the Irish representative on the UN CERD Committee will share some of her insights with us this morning. We are also delighted to have Claire Fernandez who is based in Brussels and policy officer with the European Network Against Racism, to share her experiences in this area of work as well as hearing from the experiences in addressing health inequalities in Scotland from Prof. Raj Bhopal. In Pavee Point we have long recognised the implications of the adage that ‘if you cannot be counted, you don’t count’. We believe that accurate data and ethnic monitoring is required in the struggle to protect the human rights of potentially discriminated minorities and to promote equality and counter discrimination. It should be used in the design of appropriate antidiscrimination policies and to assess their effectiveness over time. In Pavee Point we believe that the interests of Travellers or Roma cannot be well served if we do not have evidenced based policy making. This requires exactly what it says on the tin-‐an evidence base. Without data disaggregated on the basis of ethnicity we cannot provide the evidence to inform good policy or practice or to identify discrimination. Without ethnic data we cannot ascertain outcomes for Travellers from a range of services and this absence may hide discriminatory practices which are limiting Travellers lives and condemning them to live on the margins of society. In the current Austerity environment in Ireland there is ever mounting pressure on Traveller organisations to justify our existence and demonstrate the impact of our work, however in the absence of a key tool, ethnic data, this is very difficult to achieve. In other words discriminatory practices against Travellers -‐whether intentional or not-‐ by a range of state services go unmonitored while at the same time Traveller organisations are held to account for a perceived lack of outcomes
which the state does not provide us with the tools, i.e. ethnic data, to give evidence to these outcomes. There are many obstacles cited as reasons to avoid collecting ethnic data. The most common misperception we hear is that it is illegal under data protection law to do so. I want to put it on the record that there is no such impediment to the collection of ethnic data We recognise that the processing of ethnic data, can raise concerns in relation to privacy, as well as respect for individual self-‐determination. European law permits and actually encourages states to authorise the collection of data needed to combat racial discrimination. Given the experience of the Holocaust, there are regulations forbidding the processing of ‘sensitive data’ which includes racial or ethnic origin. There are safeguards to protect the rights of individuals on whom data are processed including that: • • •
Data is aggregated and anonymised to avoid the possibility of identifying specific individuals within the aggregated data Data is obtained fairly, lawfully and for specified legitimate purposes Data must be accurate and adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to purpose for which it is stored
It is interesting to note that many European and UN human rights bodies such as the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities as well as the UN International Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination all regularly call upon states to provide more detailed data on the profiles of minority ethnic groups in their country monitoring reports. The last report from the Committee on the Rights of the Child criticised the state for the lack of disaggregated data. If the collation of such data was illegal they would not do so. However these bodies highlight three principles of good practice that ethnic data should be collected in line with-‐ the principles of confidentiality, informed consent and voluntary self-‐identification and that this is a universal question – everyone is asked the question not just minority ethnic groups. Last week I attended a seminar in Brussels on Equality Data Collection organised by our colleagues in ENAR and the seminar was addressed by the head of litigation of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EPDS), Anna Buchta. The EDPS is an independent supervisory authority devoted to protecting personal data and privacy and promoting good practice in the EU institutions and bodies. Speaking at the seminar the EPDS head of Litigation stated that ‘There is a perception that
data protection laws prevent the gathering of (ethnic) data but this is not the case. …..In law ...anonymous / aggregated data can be processed.’ Minority ethnic groups and victims of discrimination have to have confidence in these data gathering processes and to be confident that ethnic data will not be used for racial profiling. There is an important role for minority community leaders, the community sector, human rights and advocacy organisations to be included in these developments in order to give information, promote understanding and garner support for data measures that can contribute to the struggle in combatting discrimination and promoting equality. In Pavee Point we recognise the initiatives we have piloted will benefit many other minority ethnic groups and we work in collaboration with other NGOs as well as government departments, statutory agencies and service providers to address data deficits and to promote good practice. My colleague, Brigid Quirke, will be discussing some of our work in more detail later this morning when she discusses the role of NGOs in in Promoting Ethnic Data Collection in Ireland. A key objective in Pavee Point’s current Strategic Plan is the Promotion of an Agenda for Data within a human rights and equality framework to achieve positive outcomes for Travellers and Roma living in Ireland. It is in this context that this second seminar has been organised today. Our next seminar, focussing on Data Protection concerns, is planned for March 2014 when we will have Patrick Simon an international expert in this area giving an input. A further seminar focussing on the role of researchers/research institutions and academics is planned for Autumn 2014. We are also planning to develop a data portal on our website where we will share the contributions made at these seminars and other relevant articles and materials as well as providing links to related developments in other jurisdictions. What PP are calling for: The Irish Gov meets its human rights obligations to collect disaggregated data within a human rights framework this means: •
Data collected is aggregated and anonymous
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It’s collected on the principle of self-‐identification
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It is a universal question
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It is analysed in consultation with organisations representing minority ethnic groups
We are conscious that there are many other people in the room who have a lot of experience in data collection. We hope that the roundtable format will facilitate dialogue between these different
stake-‐holders represented today and that we can identify ways that we can work together in a collaborative manner in the coming years to address data deficits and promote the collection, collation and analysis of ethnic data to address racism and discrimination and promote the human rights of Travellers, Roma and other minority groups within Ireland. Ronnie Fay