On the occasion of the Slovenian Day of Paraplegics and Tetraplegics, which is celebrated on 16 April, the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia (Ombudsman) emphasises that the provision of equal opportunities and non-discrimination of disabled people are key topics, in which the institution of the Ombudsman recognises the many challenges we have as a society in this area. Personal assistance is an important step towards a more active integration of disabled people into society. "Personal assistance has improved the quality of life and enabled greater independence for many disabled people who need help from others in their daily lives. Unfortunately, the Ombudsman receives many questions, comments, and complaints on this topic. We are still contacted by many petitioners who received a lower number of hours during the reassessment of their eligibility for personal assistance or were no longer entitled to personal assistance at all. It is particularly worrying that the evaluation form has changed despite the unchanged legislation, which also violates the principle of legal security," explains Ombudsman Svetina.

When preparing a proposal for a new law on personal assistance, which is already the subject of public debate, the Ombudsman expects that the legislator will examine in detail the proposals of the professional public and, in the event of their (non)compliance, provide professional arguments for his decision. In doing so, he appeals to the decision-makers that the amendment to the Personal Assistance Act should provide adequate legal regulation of the field of personal assistance, whereby the rights of individuals should be equally protected and individuals should be enabled to exercise legal remedies effectively, as this is the foundation of the rule of law. The Ombudsman reiterates that the guideline for amending the currently valid Personal Assistance Act must in no way be based on the assumption that it is an abuse of the current regulation, which the Ombudsman has pointed out several times, but rather on ensuring the need for assistance to those eligible individuals who, due to disability, cannot to be equally included in society.

As the only national institution for human rights in Slovenia, the Ombudsman is constantly advocating for the comprehensive and high-quality integration of tetraplegics and paraplegics into all spheres of society, under the same conditions as other individuals. "Unfortunately, obvious discrimination against disabled people is still present in many areas in Slovenia. Even the recent case at URI Soča, when due to the doctors' strike, they did not provide checkups in the Outpatient Clinic for drivers with special needs for almost a month, shows obvious discrimination against disabled people and violation of commitments from the Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons. During the strike, I repeatedly publicly warned the authorities in the country and the management of URI Soča that disabled people should not be hostages in the power struggle between the government and doctors, and at the same time, I also reminded them to exercise the rights that derive from the Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons, from which it follows, that the contracting states must enable disabled people to live independently and participate fully in all areas of life and guarantee the right to live independently and be included in the community. I am satisfied that even after our interventions, the authorities have resumed medical examinations for disabled people, because from a human point of view, it is only reasonable and expected that an institution such as URI Soča respects the rights of disabled people in all circumstances," added Ombudsman Svetina.

The Ombudsman also draws attention to the accessibility of public institutions, including schools, municipalities, courts, and administrative units for physically challenged persons, and the need to appropriately arrange public infrastructure. In the country, we still cannot be satisfied with the accessibility of public facilities for the disabled. "Inaccessibility to built facilities for the disabled is a problem in Slovenia that is being solved too slowly. Thirteen years after the entry into force of the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities Act (ZIMI) and only one year before the statutory deadline, access to public infrastructure that would enable them to live self-sufficiently and independently is still not sufficiently guaranteed to disabled persons. The situation in the area of ​​housing care is particularly critical, as there is a lack of suitable housing for tetraplegics and paraplegics. It seems that we as a society have failed in this area," points out Svetina.

The institution of the Ombudsman also perceives problems in passenger transport, and expects the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy to immediately implement Article 16 of the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities Act, which will ensure the same accessibility of public passenger transport in road transport for the disabled. The legal deadline for the appropriate adaptation of buses for the transport of passengers in road traffic in such a way as to ensure accessibility for the disabled expired more than three years ago, in December 2020. It has been shown that the lack of adaptation of intercity passenger transport is a major problem for the disabled especially at a time when, due to the strike, they were unable to undergo medical examinations for the renewal of their driver's licence, and thus their right to an independent life was significantly hindered. "Without adjustments, disabled people are even more vulnerable, as we push them to the edge of society and do not take into account their rights guaranteed by the Constitution. A mature society accepts fellow human beings regardless of their personal circumstances and enables them to be treated equally in society or social inclusion, Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina emphasises.