The Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia Vlasta Nussdorfer presented the president of Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor with a special jubilee publication on Wednesday marking Human Rights Day and 20 years of the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office.

President Borut Pahor said the Ombudsman's Office had been successfully carrying out its mission and increasingly earning respect in the public. This has also been reflected by the executive and legislative branches of power in their responsiveness to ombudsman's warnings, he stressed. Due to the efforts of the ombudsman and the social situation, the ombudsman's annual human rights reports are now met with due care by politicians, he believes.
"A fundamental shift has been made in this sense," Pahor said.

"The Slovenian political democratisation movement was founded and based on the demand for protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, which is why it was logical that the ombudsman's office was included in the Slovenian Constitution," the president noted.
Undoubtedly, this was a sensible and useful move, he added.

Nussdorfer said the task of the ombudsman was to check whether state institutions and the system of social welfare were functioning properly.
According to her, the ombudsman must constantly be asking questions such as "why must some plead for food and shoes, how can we prevent forced evictions, when will everybody have access to drinking water, when will all those killed in WWII be buried?".

Her recommendations demand answers as to when would things improve. "Can the crisis really be an excuse when human rights must be respected even in a war?", she wondered.

The state should be kind to all, regardless of the differences, according to the ombudsman. "You truly lose something when you stop trying and we must never do that," she pointed out.

Nussdorfer highlighted additional issues in an address she gave at an evening reception she held for top political officials and representatives of civil society.

While stressing the ombudsman's office was not a toothless tiger, she pointed to the need for quality and timely judicial proceedings, for safeguarding the right to a home and for more effectiveness in the work of oversight institutions.
She moreover called for respect of minorities, the Roma population, religious people, foreigners, asylum seekers and for responsible media behaviour.

Meanwhile, NGO Eko krog, whose representatives were also invited to Pahor's reception, staged a rally in front of the presidential palace instead, warning of environmental damage caused by the French-owned cement maker Lafarge Cement in the Zasavje region.

Nussdorfer told them that her office had been very active in dealing with environmental concerns not only in Zasavje, but also in the Celje basin and other problematic areas. Health must always come before capital, she stressed.

The Ombudsman, Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Said Pullicino, presented the Office of the Ombudsman’s Annual Report for 2013 to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Ċensu Galea.

The Ombudsman described the year 2013 as a year of change, challenges and opportunities. It was also a year in which initiatives started during 2012 were consolidated and the full impact of these positive reforms began to be felt.

All the major reforms undertaken during 2013, have completely changed the way the Office operates, were taking place in a year that saw a change in Government, following general elections that returned to power a new administration that substituted another that had been in office for practically twenty five years. That event in itself inevitably required the Office to pause and take stock of a new situation that needed to be fully absorbed if citizens were to be reassured of the continued protection that the Office was bound to provide. 2013 was therefore undoubtedly a year of change. Change that inevitably brought about challenges and opportunities.

The Ombudsman also presented the 33rd Edition of the Case Notes, which provide a quick snapshot of complaints considered by the Ombudsman and the Commissioners. The Case Notes published in this edition reflect the work done during the Commissioners’ first full year in Office and the added value that complainants gained from their expert focus on the issues raised and how these were tackled by the appropriate authorities. This sample of their final opinions is proof of the effectiveness of introducing a measure of specialisation in investigations, and clearly justifies the validity of the institutional reform brought about by the 2010 amendments.

The Case Notes evidence an integrated office working under the same rules, applying the same methods of investigation and drafting of Final Opinions. Frequent consultations between the Commissioners and the Ombudsman help to produce common approaches on how complaints should be addressed, in full respect of the autonomy that each Commissioner enjoys in the field under his scrutiny.

Copies of the Annual Report 2013 and Case Notes 2013 are available from the Office of the Ombudsman.

Click here to download the Annual Report 2013

Click here to download the Case Notes