The problem of the people erased from Slovenia's population registry in 1992 should be solved at once and in the way determined by the Constitutional Court, Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner Alvaro Gil-Robles stated in a letter to Slovenia's ombudsman on Friday.

Gil-Robles added that the decision the Constitutional Court will pass on the referendum on the erased will have to be respected as well. The CoE official believes that money cannot be a criterion for the respect for human rights just as human rights cannot depend on referendum results.

In his letter to the ombudsman, Gil-Robles stressed the need to look into the future rather than into the past. This too long pending problem has to be settled once and for all in such a way as to avoid inciting racist and xenophobic feelings, Gil-Robles stated in the letter as quoted by the ombudsman's office.

In a report on the state of human rights in Slovenia, presented by the CoE human rights commissioner last October, Gil-Robles for the first time warned of the problem of the erased and urged for its prompt resolution.

After the problem got further complicated, Gil-Robles asked to be briefed on the developments by the ombudsman's office and requested the ombudsman's opinion on the situation. One of the responsibilities of the ombudsman is to notify international human rights organisations on human rights violations, especially in case of problems mentioned in international reports.

Ombudsman Matjaz Hanzek passed on to the commissioner a chronological review of the developments and detailed information about the latest events related to the issue as well as briefed him on his view of the matter.

 

SOURCE: STA (Slovenian Press Agency), 16. 1. 2004