A/HRC/4/19/Add.2 page 17 • The real suffering of the victims and the difficulty of lodging complaints, which is often a long and costly procedure that is not always successful and does not guarantee the restoration of the rights and respect for the dignity of the victim; • The need expressed by civil society for a national human rights institution; • The lack of mechanisms for an independent investigation into allegations of police violence. 53. The Special Rapporteur took note of reports concerning the treatment of persons whose applications had not been considered for formal reasons. Such treatment allegedly includes physical and verbal abuse, humiliation, refusal to provide medical treatment, body searches and the undressing of the victim in public without regard for the sex of the persons present, theft of money and property by public authority officials, unhealthy accommodations, detention in public toilets, refusal to accept complaints lodged by the victims, etc.27 54. Some associations have denounced discriminatory practices in the methods used by the Swiss authorities in matters relating to asylum, particularly with regard to requests from West African asylum-seekers.28 55. Representatives of the Union of Swiss Employers (Schweizerischer Arbeitgeberverband/ Union Patronale Suisse) said that the question of racism did not arise at the level of enterprises, and referred to the positive stance taken in votes on foreigners and facilitated naturalization. They also pointed to the existence, in certain collective agreements, of articles on the protection of the person and on non-discrimination against workers. 56. Representatives of trade unions talked about discrimination in hiring foreigners and in the availability of training places for foreigners, particularly young people, based on their origin and social status. They consider that worker protection in Switzerland is particularly poor, especially in cases of discrimination. B. Political parties 57. Switzerland’s policy towards foreigners and its asylum policy continue to be the subject of lively political debates. The following paragraphs provide a general survey of the position of the main parties in Switzerland. 27 See, for example, Didier Estoppey, “Soleure: les W.C. pour ultime horizon?”, Le Courrier, 3-4 September 2005 or the broadcast by Télévision Suisse Romande (TSR), Temps présent, of 7 April 2005. 28 Gaétan Nanchen, “L’Afrique et l’asile, Analyses des méthodes des autorités suisses en matière d’asile au regard des demandes des requérants ouest africains”, Organisation suisse d’aide aux réfugiés (OSAR), August 2005.