European Human Rights Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros said in Ljubljana on Friday that events in Slovenia linked with the Roma were unfortunately not an isolated case. Even countries with long democratic traditions are becoming aware that they they are not immune from discrimination, he said.
Diamandouros, speaking at the closing event of the "Let's Face Discrimination" project, organised by the Office of the Slovenian Human Rights Ombudsman and the Austrian Ludwig Boltzmann Human Rights Institute, also praised the activities of Slovenia's Matjaz Hanzek.

Ombudsmen around Europe think highly of Hanzek as well, he added.

Diamandouros also gave a short interview for the STA, where he said that something was definitely wrong in a society "where not all people are treated as equal and some are discriminated against. This is illegal and constitutes a violation of the basic democratic principles," he said.

He went on to say that modern societies also had serious problems with Roma discrimination. Discrimination is sadly a part of our lives, he added.

He stressed that it was important to recognise discrimination, fight against it and reduce it to the lowest possible level, which requires the rule of law and a strong democracy.

Democracy is not just about majority rule. "Democracy means that the majority has to respect the rights of the minority" and if the rights of minorities are not respected, democracy and the rule of law is being undermined, the EU ombudsman noted.

Discrimination occurs when people are less sure of themselves, when they are faced with many changes and a feeling of uncertainty, he explained.

The Northern Irish Ombudsman Tom Frawley meanwhile said at the conference that good leaders should be aware that they could not do everything by themselves. They should step out of the box, adopt new approaches and stress creativity and ethics, Frawley said.