A/HRC/28/81 concerning migrants and their families. Legislative and institutional measures were in place to eliminate discrimination; access to civil justice was no longer conditional for foreigners; and interpretation and legal assistance were also available to foreigners in the country. 42. The representative of Switzerland stated that xenophobia was not a legal term under its national law and that the public service must respect fundamental rights. Racial discrimination was punishable in Switzerland. The law provided sufficient protection against discrimination, but it was important to strengthen the application of current legislation. He informed the meeting about three institutions: (a) the Federal Commission against Racism, established in 1995, which had been monitoring activities in order to identify racism and racial discrimination, working to promote better understanding, emphasizing prevention and hearing concerns of minorities; (b) the Service for Combating Racism, which had been promoting coordination and setting measures to combat racism since 2001; and (c) the Federal Commission for Migration, which, since 2008, had been bridging the gap between the authorities and civil society on migration issues. 43. The representative of Greece informed the Committee that, three weeks previously, the Greek Parliament had adopted a new anti-racist law, which prohibited racist speech and violence against individuals on the basis of race and other forms of discrimination and included various measures and sanctions, such as imprisonment and fines. If such acts were performed by a public servant, it was considered an aggravating factor, and the sanction was doubled. The delegate also noted the importance of public awareness measures, informing the meeting about some initiatives organized in Geneva by the Permanent Mission of Greece, such as a side event to the Human Rights Council on equality and sport, and an event organized with the Permanent Mission of South Africa featuring the lawyer of the late President Nelson Mandela, George Bizos. 44. The Chairperson-Rapporteur pointed out the role of the judiciary in interpreting law. He said that it would be interesting to look at case law and how the judiciary took its own responsibility and created a precedent for other cases. He also said that national mechanisms were mandated by legal provisions; however, it was important to examine their effectiveness and how the population was represented in such institutions. In addition, he referred to procedural gaps with regard to the Convention, especially in relation to xenophobia. 45. The representative of the Russian Federation emphasized that reservations to the Convention had a negative impact on its implementation. For example, with regard to article 4, in the era of modern technology an expansion of hate speech was taking place and there was a need for the withdrawal of reservations to that article. The Russian Federation did not have reservations. 46. The representative of Brazil said that the Ad Hoc Committee should discuss further whether the Convention had substantive gaps. With regard to procedural gaps, during the past two sessions, experts from the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination had noted that they did not have a mandate for country visits and that it would be useful for them to have such a mandate, set out in an additional document. That point had also been made in the replies to the questionnaire. 47. The representative of the United States emphasized that the best way to respond to hate speech was with more speech. He noted that the Convention clearly prohibited discrimination and acts of violence and that there were no gaps in the Convention with regard to xenophobia as a legal matter. There were clearly gaps in the effective implementation of existing obligations and that was a productive area for continued discussion, to which the United States looked forward. 48. The representative of South Africa recalled that reservations were permissible unless they were incompatible with the treaty; that included reservations to article 4. She 10