“The SCA acknowledges that the OPD has a broad mandate to promote and protect human rights, and that it exercises this mandate in practice.

The SCA notes, however, that the Anti-discrimination Law obliges public agencies to provide information to the Public Defender while private entities and individuals provide information to the Public Defender only on voluntary basis, and that the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern that this may impact the ability of the OPD to effectively examine cases of discrimination (CERD/C/GEO/CO/6-8).

The SCA encourages the OPD to continue to advocate for appropriate amendments to the Anti-discrimination Law to make mandatory the provision of information by private entities and individuals.”