On 27 March 2023, representatives of selected non-governmental organisations that collaborate with the Ombudsman for the tasks of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) met at the institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman. Based on the last public tender, the following were selected for cooperation until the end of 2026: Mirovni inštitut, Novi Paradoks, Pravni center za varstvo človekovih pravic in okolja (PIC), Pravo za vse, Skup - skupnost privatnih zavodov, Spominčica, UNICEF, Zveza društev upokojencev Slovenije (ZDUS), Zveza prijateljev Mladine Slovenije (ZPMS), and Zveza Sožitje.
Representatives of the selected non-governmental organisations were first addressed by the Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina who underscored the importance of their collaboration in protecting the human rights of people who are deprived of their liberty and thanked them in advance for their contribution within the NPM. He reminded them of the NPM’s role taking action since 2008 and said that this institute also points to a high level of democracy in society and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Ombudsman’s counsellors, members of the NPM, later presented in detail the methodology of visits according to individual institutions and the meeting concluded with a lecture by Dr Zdenka Čebašek Travnik about communication with people with dementia.
The task of every NPM is to visit all places of deprivation of liberty in the country and check on the treatment of people who have been deprived of their liberty. With consideration of legal norms it recommends to appropriate bodies how the conditions and treatment of persons can be improved and torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment prevented. In relation to this, it can make proposals and comment on valid and proposed laws.
The selected non-governmental organisations perform tasks and competences with their representatives who are specially trained for individual fields of supervision. They participate as members of a team appointed by the Ombudsman separately for each individual visit. Every group performing the supervision is thus assembled of representatives of the Ombudsman and selected organisations, and works in accordance with the visits programme adopted for this purpose by the Ombudsman. If necessary, other circumstances are taken into consideration, due to which an immediate visit could be necessary.
