E/CN.4/2005/21 page 11 Two candidates with the same qualifications, one belonging to the dominant group and the other to a minority group in terms of nationality, ethnic group or skin colour, telephoned or wrote directly to several recruiting officers. The tests proved the existence of discriminatory instructions or procedures and recruitment methods characterized by a wide range of prejudices and discriminatory forms of behaviour. 60. For the time being, there was little unanimity on the use of affirmative action in national policies to combat racism, at least through “hard-line” measures such as the imposition of quotas. That was the case, for example, in France and Switzerland, where parliament had refused to adopt any anti-discrimination policy based on quotas for women. Moreover, such measures were often viewed as giving unfair advantages - to the detriment of the dominant group - and as bending the rules of the labour market. 61. There was a long list of “soft” measures based on encouragement and pragmatism, including recruitment methods that upheld the principle of non-discrimination and the application of anti-racist legislation in the workplace. That method could be used systematically by the persons responsible in all recruitment procedures, in both the public and the private sectors. 62. In the ensuing discussions, the observer for Congo asked how the human rights instruments pertaining to combating discrimination could best be put to use, as the mere existence of legal instruments did not prevent people from being subjected to discrimination. He also stressed political will as fundamental in the implementation of non-discriminatory measures. 63. Vernellia Randall offered several examples of discrimination in employment in the United States and the usefulness of affirmative action in addressing limitations of access imposed by discriminatory practices. B. Racism and health 64. Vernellia R. Randall, professor of law at the University of Dayton, United States of America, entitled her presentation “Eliminating the ‘black health deficit’ of African descendants in the Americas and Europe by ensuring access to quality health care”, and discussed equal access to quality health care as a crucial issue facing people of African descent in the diaspora. 65. Ms. Randall submitted that economic access constituted a significant barrier for people of African descent who lived in countries without universal health care. Racial barriers to health care were based, in large part, on the unavailability of services in black communities. The shortage of black health professionals further affected health-care availability by limiting black input into the health-care system. 66. No single approach would adequately address the multifaceted problem of ensuring access to quality health care for people of African descent. Independent of economics, race affected access to care and the type and quality of health care received. Consequently, to improve the health of people of African descent in the Americas and in Europe, it was not sufficient merely to remove economic barriers to access. Health-care institutions would have to be more than affordable - they would have to be available and just.