Ljubljana, 28 June (STA) - Human rights Ombudsman Zdenka Čebašek Travnik presented on Thursday Speaker Gregor Virant with the 2011 Human Rights Report for Slovenia. The ombudsman highlighted the most burning issues, among them violations of labour legislation, the issues of the erased and Slovenia's failure to ban corporal punishment of children.

 
The most problematic aspect of labour legislation violations is the employers' failure to pay social contributions for their employees and Slovenia's ineffectiveness to prevent this.

Deputy Ombudsman Kornelija Marzel moreover said that work in Slovenia was not decent, as the pay was not decent, social security was not guaranteed, and neither were decent work conditions. She moreover said that the state was very slow in responding to these issues.

Virant told the press after the meeting that the state must show a strong response to labour legislation violations and step up the fight against unpaid social security contributions. He believes this is a great problem and the perpetrators should be held criminally liable.

As regards to the erased, Virant believes the government should find a systemic solution to handle the issue. In cases where rights were violated, the state should pay compensation. He moreover believes that cases must be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Čebašek Travnik said that the part of the report dedicated to the erased, which was drafted before a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights was announced on Tuesday, was in line with the court's decision.

Deputy Ombudsman Jernej Rovšek moreover said that matters related to the erased were hidden in drawers of those responsible at the Interior Ministry who wanted to hide the nature and the extent of the problem.

Rovšek labelled the court's ruling, under which Slovenia must find a systemic compensation solution in a year, as sharp, but he believes this was the consequence of hiding the problem.

He moreover proposed that the parliament establish an investigative commission to find those responsible for protracted addressing of the issue.

During their meeting Čebašek Travnik also pointed to some issues of the judiciary, according to Virant. She was critical that matters were being sent back and forth between courts at different levels, and that it could take ages before cases are resolved.

The ombudsman also pointed out that the situation in the public administration had worsened in recent time. Virant agreed, saying that "bureaucracy has become somewhat rusty in the past years". The government will have to make it clear that public administration is there to provide services to citizens, he added.

The ombudsman moreover expressed disappointment that the family law was rejected in a referendum, saying that Slovenia had missed an opportunity to enact solutions in the field of children's rights, especially with regards to a ban on corporal punishment.

Čebašek Travnik expects that the report will be discussed in parliament as soon as possible. However, before it can be put on the agenda of the National Assembly, the government must prepare a response.

The ombudsman will also give the report to President Danilo Türk and she offered the same to Prime Minister Janez Janša.