CERD/C/84/D/50/2012 appeal was turned down on 18 February 1999 by the Swiss Asylum Appeals Commission (later replaced by the Federal Administrative Court). 4.2 Temporary admission is not a residence permit but an alternative measure to expulsion. The rights and obligations of persons admitted on a temporary basis are governed by the legal provisions relating to foreign nationals and the relevant ordinances. Since 1 January 2008 persons admitted on a temporary basis have had access to the labour market.6 Temporary admission and the granting and extension of temporary admission status fall under the competence of the canton of residence. Labour market access, welfare, restrictions on the choice of medical care providers, and housing are administered by the competent cantonal authority. 4.3 In the canton of Vaud, where the petitioner lives, persons with temporary admission status are treated as asylum seekers (Cantonal Act on Assistance to Asylum Seekers and Other Categories of Foreign Nationals, art. 3). Subsequent issue of a residence permit is governed by the provisions of the Foreign Nationals Act. The conversion of temporary admission to residence permit falls under cantonal jurisdiction and depends on various criteria of integration — e.g., length of stay, social integration and financial independence — and the individual’s family situation. An application for a residence permit may be submitted by a foreign national admitted on a temporary basis who has been resident in Switzerland for at least five years. Admissibility 4.4 Referring to article 1, paragraph 2, of the Convention, the State party recalls that its authorities may treat their own nationals and non-nationals differently, provided that this distinction is not discriminatory in purpose, on grounds of race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin, and does not entail such consequences. The petitioner’s claims are based solely on his status under the law on foreign nationals and not on his origin or his Somali nationality. The regulations challenged here do not apply only to Somali nationals or a specific group of persons within the meaning of article 1 of the Convention. 4.5 The question of whether, given the restrictions associated with temporary admission status (notably where longer stays are concerned), the status of persons admitted on a temporary basis to Switzerland may entail their exclusion to the extent that they can be defined as a group protected by the prohibition of discrimination was considered in a study in 2003 by the Institute of Public Law of the University of Berne, at the request of the Federal Commission against Racism.7 According to this study, a group defined by residence status is not one of those protected by the prohibition on discrimination. Temporary admission is a legal status. No particular link with the individuals concerned and their personal situation, such as that required to demonstrate discrimination, is inherent in this legal status. The report nevertheless acknowledges that a series of restrictions in essential areas of life may entail exclusion for those affected but that that exclusion does not constitute discrimination, even indirect discrimination. 4.6 As regards exhaustion of domestic remedies, the State party points out that anyone may allege a violation of article 8, paragraph 2, of the Swiss Constitution, prohibiting racial discrimination, in the Swiss courts. The petitioner did not do this, and yet he could have done, since this is a public law remedy open to anyone who claims discrimination on 6 7 GE.14-41526 See article 85, paragraph 6, of the Foreign Nationals Act, whereby the cantonal authorities may grant temporarily admitted persons a work permit irrespective of the job market or the general economic situation. R. Kiener and A. Rieder, Temporary admission from the standpoint of fundamental rights, Berne, Federal Commission against Racism, 2003. 7