A/HRC/8/41 Page 4 by the Swiss cantons and people which fall under the aegis of the Confederation. Cantons have very broad competencies in various areas such as education, police, health etc. The federal structure sometimes involves entanglements of responsibilities. The principle of subsidiarity is fundamental when it comes to ensuring the rights of Swiss citizens. The culture of dialogue with all the parties involved was also maintained in drafting the national report for the Universal Periodic Review. 7. The main observations made by NGOs have been included in the report. For example, with regard to the creation of a national human rights institution, a working group consisting of representatives of the cantons, the Confederation and of parliamentarians held meetings over the last few months and drafted a report for the Federal Government on the feasibility of setting up a national human rights institution. As regards the draft optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Switzerland considered that the provisions of the Covenant served as guidelines for the State’s legislation and policies. These rights are programmatic in nature and do not necessarily lead to right before the court. Any international treaty ratified by Switzerland immediately became part of national legislation. Switzerland was exploring the opportunity to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. On the fight against discrimination, a series of laws for specific vulnerable groups such as women, children, persons with disabilities, and foreigners exist. Switzerland noted that all citizens participated in the decision-making process and there was a great transparency in political debates. Efforts were continuously made to ensure that various sectors of society were able to express their views. Finally, Switzerland stated that the Universal Periodic Review represented a real step forward and made possible a venue to allow to listen to one another and make concrete recommendations, and to understand the specificities and constraints faced by countries regarding the implementation of human rights. 8. In response to written questions submitted in advance, Switzerland noted with regard to the application of the new law on asylum the assertions that some provisions were tough were not valid, since the legal provisions that came into force in January 2007 were in line with the Federal Constitution and with international public law. As of 1 January 2007 it was possible for an asylumseeker to be provided with a residence permit if conditions were met. With regard to the treatment of foreigners, the law includes for the first time provisions on the integration of foreigners. The aim is to ensure equal opportunities for foreigners and to allow aliens to participate in the political, economic and social life. It was noted that 21 per cent of the Swiss population were foreigners and that efforts were still needed in particular areas such as training, the labour market, public health, etc. As to equality of sexes, women are still underrepresented in responsible jobs as it is sometimes still difficult to combine professional and private lives. Various awareness-raising campaigns had been organized to promote this equality. Financial assistance was made available to ensure that children had access to nurseries and efforts were being made throughout the country to ensure that all children could attend school. A number of projects have also been put in place to promote wage equality between men and women, including by promoting companies that ensure equal salaries. Within Parliament, the two chambers were almost unanimously in favor of the ratification of the Optional Protocol to Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which should take place in July 2008 unless a referendum is called for. Compatibility of maternity leave and relevant benefits are in place, and more favourable provisions can be reached through a collective labour agreement or measures at cantonal level. With regard to violence against children and suicide, the scope of the phenomenon of sexual violence against children needs further comprehensible studies throughout the country. There are criminal statistics which do not show the full scope of the problem, as there is still underreporting on a number of cases. On the issue of adolescent suicides, a report approved by the Federal Council in 2005 revealed that the yearly 1,400 cases of suicide were above the world average. It is essential to strengthen preventive measures, in