A/HRC/8/41 Page 7 18. Mexico recalled that there is no definition of torture in line with all elements of article 1 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment CAT and asked if any measures were planned in that respect. It also asked whether any study had been made on the compatibility of Swiss asylum law with its obligations under the 1951 Convention on refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and suggested that Switzerland review its legislation on asylum and refugees in the light of these instruments, if needed. Mexico recommended the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Optional Protocol to CAT. It also recommended the creation or designation of a national mechanism for the prevention of torture and that Switzerland accede to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 19. Cuba hoped that Switzerland will withdraw its reservation to article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and wished to make a recommendation in this regard. Recalling Switzerland’s engagement with humanitarian action, Cuba asked about the prospects of attaining 0.7 per cent of GDP devoted to humanitarian aid, instead of the level of 0.4 per cent in the last years. Cuba recommended that Switzerland consider increasing its support and assistance to developing countries as a means of implementing the right to development and as a contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Finally, Cuba enquired about the measures the Government intends to take to address the high suicide rate among juveniles. 20. In response to the interventions, Switzerland noted that since 1996 an office within the federal administration coordinates work on the protection of children and informs of assistance. Research is undertaken, subsidies provided, and a free of charge hotline is available 24 hours per day to help young people in all cantons. Relevant departments at canton level dealing with health, youth, sport, education undertake measures, and cantons undertake initiatives to ensure better training of professionals to address violence against children. The human rights of migrants are ensured in Switzerland by the Federal Constitution, international human rights provisions are directly applicable and migrants can claim protection under these provisions before the courts. The Federal Council and the Parliament always check and monitor whether a popular initiative is in line with Switzerland’s international obligations. If such an initiative contravenes with peremptory norms of international law, it is declared totally or partially null and void by the Federal Assembly. This was the case, in 1994, with an initiative concerning asylum policy which was found to be contrary to the principle of non-refoulement. With regard to the justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights, the Federal Council considers that the standards of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are not directly applicable. In May 2008, the Federal Court considered it contains a catalogue of economic, social and cultural rights which each State party undertakes to achieve progressively within available resources, and Switzerland considers that the Covenant has programmatic provisions which provide guidance to Governments. With regard to the children of Travellers and the right to education, it is a challenge to ensure access to schooling in light of their nomadic lifestyle. Pragmatic solutions have included school attendance where the families spend the winter, and during the summer the children are provided with necessary school materials and interact with their teachers by correspondence. Switzerland has set the level of overseas development assistance from 2008 to 2015 at 0.4 per cent of GDP. It ensures that legislation and practice is compatible with the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and other international human rights commitments. 21. China referred to the national report and to the report prepared by OHCHR which states that women still suffer from various forms of discrimination both in employment and in daily life. The rate of participation in political decision-making is still low and violence against women and sexual