President Danilo Tuerk received on Tuesday the annual report by Human Rights Ombudsman Zdenka Cebasek Travnik. Among the problems listed in the report, the president highlighted those concerning the quality of work of state bodies, especially in the judiciary.

Tuerk told Cebasek Travnik that he would read the 2010 report carefully and strive to improve the situation to his best ability.

He also concluded that human rights implementation monitoring had so far brought improvements in several areas. "We registered progress in reference to human rights, but we still have many problems."

"In the justice system, for example, certain progress can be seen regarding court backlogs...But the court's practice is that there is a notion that human rights are not protected well enough and the quality of work in this area needs to be improved," the president pointed out.

He added that the efficiency of inspection services also called for improvement.

Tuerk moreover backed Cebasek Travnik's call for the founding of a national human rights institution. "This is our international commitment and it is incorporated in our human rights policy."

The proposal for founding the national human rights institution has already been drawn up in cooperation with the Foreign Affairs Ministry, but the government has failed to endorse it, Cebasek Travnik noted.

She also told the press that the workers' rights abuse had also been an important topic of today's talks with the president.