Human Rights Ombudsman dr. Zdenka Čebašek-Travnik told the press on Wednesday, 5. 9. 2102, that she won’t apply to the call for applications for ombudsman, which  president of the republic of Slovenia dr. Danilo Türk issued on 27. 8. 2012.

She added that if respected state officials would ask her to continue her work in the area of human rights in any form, she feels competent enough that she would assume such a responsibility.

Ombudsman dr. Zdenka Čebašek-Travnik, whose term ends in February next year, said that she had decided not to run for a new mandate after a careful consideration and expressed hope that the selection procedure would focus on human rights issues and not on attempts at undermining the candidates.She said that a recent media campaign against her was not the reason for her decision.

"I do not wish my taking part in the procedure would serve as a basis for attacks on individual candidates on a personal level," she pointed out.
She regretted that her work had not been judged by the actual achievements recently but that she "became a tool for divisions", which she had always been strongly against.

Ombudsman dr. Zdenka Čebašek-Travnik added that she had taken attacks on her dignity very personally and that she had also been receiving death threats.
She believes she had been attacked because she had proven with her work in the past that she would not yield to anyone in power. According to her, the current government is bothered by her attitude to the most burning issues, most notably to the act on the balancing of the public finances.
Ombudsman requested a constitutional review of the cut in pensions paid from the budget stemming from the act in July. She argued that the pensions had been cut unequally.

But dr. Čebašek-Travnik pointed out that she had been warning about irregularities and giving recommendations to this as well as the previous government but that her calls had been seldom taken into consideration.
She said that a comprehensive assessment of her work would be possible based on a review of her term.

She believes that her successor, who will be appointed by the president, will have to broach children's rights, the rights of the disabled and the ratification and implementation of several conventions. An unfinished project that will need to be addressed is also the setting up of a national institution for human rights. Here she sees a possibility for her contribution.

Slovenia at present has no institution that would propose to the government policies and measures for the area of human rights, as the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman deals with individuals and the violations of their rights, dr. Čebašek-Travnik said.