The battle against ethnic discrimination: realizing the (utopian) promise of non-discrimination law

In this article, we argue that the individual rights strategy, the most common way to realize non-discrimination law, is inadequate when it comes to combatting ethnic discrimination. We start our paper by analysing the obstacles for victims of ethnic discrimination to initiate and conduct a legal procedure and thereby mobilize the law. These obstacles consist of the complexity of the concept "ethnic discrimination" in practice as well as the challenges of the "individual rights strategy". Additionally, we investigate if there are other, better legal pathways to combat existing discriminatory practices, focusing on ethnic profiling and institutional racism (i.e. systemic discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity) by governmental organizations. Two alternative legal pathways to combat discrimination are presented: (1) more attention for strategic litigation on behalf of victims of discrimination, and (2) more attention for proactive obligations in the law, such as imposing public sector equality duties on organizations.