Contribution of the Swiss Federal Commission against Racism (FCR) to the UN Forum on Minority Issues December 15/16, 2008 Presented by Mrs. Doris ANGST, director of the FCR IV Equal Access to Quality Education for Minorities Complete Version - CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Madame Chair, Ladies and Gentlemen, Allow me to make the following statement on behalf of the Swiss Federal Commission against Racism, FCR, which is a national specialized Human Rights agency against Racism recognized by the United Nations. The FCR shares the Forum’s concerns and welcomes the recommendations regarding Point 4, Equal Access to Quality Education for Minorities. We would like to share with the Forum a specific subject from Switzerland and present preventive measures that have been developed in order to mend the situation. As a preliminary remark, let me state that Switzerland does not have a coherent anti-discrimination law as, for example, the countries of the European Union do. This makes it more difficult to actively fight discrimination on the labor market and in housing matters. Recognized NATIONAL Minorities in Switzerland, as defined by Switzerland regarding the Framework Convention on the Protection of national minorities of the Council of Europe, are the following: the three minority language groups, the travelers/gypsies and the Jewish population. All these groups are minorities of long standing in our country. However, Switzerland has many NEW minority groups that have immigrated into the country after the Second World War. They came as workers from European and Extra-European countries, some others as refugees. Autochthonous Swiss, so to speak, tend to identify members of these NEW minorities as “aliens” and as “not belonging here”. These perceptions contrast with the multicultural reality in our country. Many of the newcomers settle in Switzerland, marry and inter-marry with local Swiss men and women, their children go to school, work and live here. Public discourse in Switzerland speaks of second and third generation migrants. Many however have become Swiss citizens, even if this procedure is long and complicated. Discriminations that we are addressing here therefore occur less according to nationality but