E/CN.4/1996/72/Add.2 page 26 Ethnic discrimination in daily life - possible solutions 12. The vast majority of the complaints of ethnic discrimination reported to the Commissioner for Aliens concern inequality of treatment in daily life situations. They relate in particular to: Inequality of treatment in access to employment and at the workplace; Inequality of treatment in the spheres of education and occupational training; Inequality of treatment in communal services and establishments (in particular discothèques and restaurants); Discriminatory insults, humiliating treatment and threats at workplaces and places of study, in the media and in advertising, and on the part of political organizations and anonymous individuals. 13. Ethnic discrimination, for example inequality of treatment because of skin colour or country of origin, can be very easy to prove if the attributes of an offence are present. In most cases the victims have the law on their side. But more subtle methods of alienation, and unconscious or involuntary discrimination, often go unnoticed. Subjectively perceived affronts cannot always be proved. In view of the continuing wave of acts of violence stemming from xenophobia or racism which have produced a feeling of insecurity among ethnic minorities, it is understandable that even relatively minor incidents occurring in daily life situations represent, subjectively, a greater threat and carry a greater emotional charge than was the case a few years ago. Ethnic discrimination is only one of the many factors that play a role in conflicts, whether at the workplace, at school or when disputes arise between neighbours. 14. Intervention in individual cases under the “Project for non-violent intercultural understanding” of the Office of the Commissioner for Aliens aims at resolving conflicts by arbitration in order to reduce prejudices between neighbours and in schools. Long-term prevention serves the interests of public relations, as mentioned above. 15. For seven years the Commissioner for Aliens has been receiving complaints concerning discrimination against non-Germans, particularly young Turks, seeking admission to Berlin discothèques. The first few years' findings were evaluated in a survey whose results were presented in 1990. The survey workers came to the conclusion that the ethnic discrimination which is practised inside and at the entries to Berlin discothèques is very considerable. It was recommended to the Commissioner for Aliens that he should continue his usual practice, which is to follow up all complaints and press for the elimination of discrimination by holding talks with the discothèques' owners and mangers. In the most serious cases the district office can revoke the establishment's licence for failure to comply with the provisions of the Berlin restaurants' code. 16. In 1992, as in prior years, the Commissioner for Aliens had talks with the public authorities responsible for housing and with various employers in