SLOVENIA: COM'S COURTESY CALL ON HUMAN RIGHTS

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 001053

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EUR/NCE, DRL/CRA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINR SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA: COM'S COURTESY CALL ON HUMAN RIGHTS
OMBUDSMAN MATJAZ HANZEK


Sensitive but Unclassified - please protect
accordingly.


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On November 16, COM, accompanied by
the Embassy's PD/Human Rights Officer, paid a call on
Slovenia's Ombudsman for Human Rights, Matjaz Hanzek.
Hanzek expressed concern with some of the positions and
public statements made by members of the rightist and
center-right parties after their strong showing in the
October 3 election. (NOTE: In the election, the center-
right Slovenian Democratic Party, or SDS, won a
plurality of the vote and is currently in the process
of trying to form a coalition government with other
centrist and center-right parties. END NOTE). Hanzek
also enumerated what he considered to be the three main
human rights issues facing Slovenia today: (1) the
longstanding issue of the "erased," which concerns
those former Yugoslav citizens who were deleted from
Slovenia's register of permanent residents shortly
after Slovenia declared independence in 1991; (2)
prevarication on the adoption of a bill that would
regulate domestic partnerships for gays and lesbians;
and (3) the social and political status of Slovenia's
Roma community. COM also asked Hanzek about domestic
violence, hate speech, and court backlogs. After going
over the litany of human rights problems facing
Slovenia, Hanzek smiled and concluded by saying that
Slovenia still compared favorably to most other
countries around the world and that he was "optimistic"
about the future. END SUMMARY.

--------------
Slovenia's New Center-Right Government
--------------


2. (SBU) When asked about the new center-right
government that is currently in the process of being
formed, Hanzek told us he was "deeply troubled" by the
past actions and public statements of those now about
to assume power. Hanzek noted that the newly elected
President of the Parliament, Franc Cukjati of the SDS,
had spearheaded a 2001 referendum drive to deny single
women the right to undergo artificial insemination.
(NOTE: The referendum was held on June 17, 2001 and
failed to pass, thus denying deny single women the
right to artificial insemination. END NOTE). Hanzek
argued that by supporting the defeat of the referendum,
Cukjati had contributed to the violation of single
women's human rights.


3. (SBU) Hanzek also voiced concern over remarks made
by the Deputy President of the Parliament, Saso Pece (a
member of the rightist Slovenian Nationalist Party, or
SNS),who claimed publicly that he never wanted to have
coffee with someone who was black or gay. Finally,
Hanzek also noted that the Prime Minister-designate,
Janez Jansa of the SDS, had backed a referendum over
the question of the "erased" that would have challenged
a decision by Slovenia's Constitutional Court. Hanzek
argued that by promoting the referendum, Jansa had
demonstrated his complete lack of respect for the rule
of law.

-------------- -
Protecting the Rights of Slovenia's Minorities
-------------- -


3. (U) On the issue of the "erased," Hanzek noted that
it was unacceptable to continue to deny claims for
permanent residency to individuals simply because they
were former members of the Yugoslav army who had failed
to apply for citizenship during a six-month window in
1991-92. Hanzek noted that he hoped the new government
would begin issuing permanent residency to such
individuals forthwith but doubted that this would
happen.


4. (U) Hanzek also told us that the delay in the
adoption of a law regulating domestic partnerships for
gay and lesbian citizens was limiting their human
rights. He expressed concern that this "first step" in
the "struggle for equality" might languish in the new
parliament dominated by center-right parties.


5. (U) Hanzek noted that the social and political
status of Slovenia's Roma population was also
unacceptable and that improvements were needed to


further integrate the Roma into Slovene society. He
argued that at present Roma citizens simply do not have
truly equal opportunities in employment, housing and
education.

-------------- --------------
Domestic Violence, Hate Speech, and Court Backlogs
-------------- --------------


6. (U) Responding to COM's question about domestic
violence, Hanzek told us that a draft law on domestic
violence was currently awaiting parliamentary
modification and approval. Hanzek informed us that the
Council of Europe was planning to hold a ministerial-
level conference on domestic violence and child abuse
in Ljubljana in July and that he hoped the conference
would push the government to put legislation in place
by then.


7. (SBU) On the issue of hate speech, Hanzek informed
us that his office would be holding an exhibition on
December 9 in commemoration of Human Rights Day that
would document hate speech by prominent Slovenian
politicians and public figures. Hanzek told us the
exhibition would include comments made by SNS party
leader Zmago Jelincic, who stated on the floor of the
parliament that Slovenes should begin collecting guns
to protect ourselves from the Roma population.


8. (U) On the issue of court backlogs, Hanzek agreed
that the situation was unacceptable, particularly in
child abuse and custody cases, where delays directly
impact both the human rights and wellbeing of children.

--------------
Comment
--------------


9. (SBU) Throughout our meeting, Hanzek did not hide
his distrust for the newly elected parliamentarians
from the center-right and rightist parties. Despite
his clear personal preference for the parties of the
center-left, Hanzek's concerns about the new
government's stance towards human rights are real. At
this point, it is still too early to tell whether and
how the newly elected government will deal with the
issues he enumerated. Some issues, like that of the
"erased" and domestic violence, will have to be settled
quickly if Slovenia does not want to isolate itself
within the EU. Other issues, however, like domestic
partnerships for gays and lesbians, are likely to be
bypassed in the coming parliamentary term. Post will
continue to monitor and report on human rights issues
as they emerge.

ROBERTSON


NNNN