SLOVENIA: HUMPHREY ALUM BECOMES TOP GOS HUMAN

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000184

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

EUR/NCE FOR SSADLE, EUR/PPD FOR CMUDGETT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM OEXC KWMN PINR PGOV SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA: HUMPHREY ALUM BECOMES TOP GOS HUMAN
RIGHTS WATCHDOG

REF: LJUBLJANA 126


1. (SBU) Summary. The Government of Slovenia's new Human
Rights Ombudsman Zdenka Cebasek-Travnik told COM the 2006
Human Rights Report was spot on, the Roma situation (when put
in context) is relatively positive, and estimated the number
of "erased" without status as less than 1,000. She said her
agenda will be slightly different than her predecessor,
focusing on the protection of children, the elderly, and the
disabled, and expressed frustration with weakness of civil
society and the media in Slovenia, citing the country's small
size as a critical challenge. Cebasek-Travnik, a proud
Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship alumna, was a surprise choice
for the position by President Drnovsek last fall and is
clearly still getting smart on the issues and accustomed to
her prominent position. She indicated that she will take a
significantly less confrontational approach with the GOS than
her firebrand predecessor, at least at the beginning of her
term. For now, human rights advocates seem willing to give
her time to prove her mettle for the position. End Summary.

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Another Exchanges Success Story: Humphrey Fellow Makes Good
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2. (U) COM paid a courtesy call on the Government of
Slovenia's new Human Rights Ombudsman Zdenka Cebasek-Travnik
on March 26. Cebasek-Travnik was quick to mention her
experience in the United States through the Hubert H.
Humphrey Fellowship program, where she spent the 1993-1994
academic year studying and doing professional work related to
substance abuse treatment at Johns Hopkins University. She
recalled that a conference speaker told her group of Humphrey
Fellows that some day they would take over very important
positions in their governments, and, with a laugh and a
smile, she told COM that now she understood what he was
talking about. She noted that her Humphrey Fellowship year
was "less about the educational knowledge gained" but about
the experience, in particular seeing different points of view
and perspectives. Cebasek-Travnik commented that it was
"easy" for the group to make the U.S. "our second home
country" and vividly remembered how accepting the U.S. was of
foreigners. Cebasek-Travnik returned to the U.S. thanks to a
Hubert H. Humphrey alumni program in 1997 to address that
year's class of Humphrey Fellows at their Washington seminar
and was featured in the 1997 Annual Report of the Institute
for International Education.


3. (SBU) Cebasek-Travnik also briefly mentioned her family's
background with the U.S., noting that her mother was born in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where her grandfather and grandmother
were working in a mine and a tobacco factory, respectively.
She said that she had the opportunity to visit her mother's
birthplace during her Humphrey Fellowship and still has
relatives in the U.S.

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Human Rights Report: Ombudsman "Agrees With All Findings"
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4. (SBU) In regards to the 2006 Human Rights Report (HRR),
Cebasek-Travnik said that she read the report and, given that
she had been in office for just two weeks when the report was
released, asked her professional colleagues in the
Ombudsman's office for their impression. She said her
colleagues advised that they "agreed with all statements" in
the HRR, and thus she released a brief statement to the press
saying the Ombudsman's Office agreed with the findings of the
report and urged political leaders to address questions it
brought up. She said she would be pleased to work with the
Embassy on future Human Rights Reports.

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Apolitical Past. Apolitical Present. Apolitical Future?
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5. (U) Cebasek-Travnik, a Ljubljana-based and Murska
Sobota-born and raised psychiatrist, was a virtual unknown
when she was nominated by President Janez Drnovsek on
November 21, 2006 from a pool of 28 candidates. Her
selection surprised political onlookers who predicted other,
higher profile candidates from the Slovenian human rights
advocacy community as favorites for the post. Her nomination
was confirmed by the Parliament on December 20 receiving 64
of 90 votes (with others abstaining) and she began her
six-year term February 21. In contrast to most high profile
leaders in Slovenia, Cebasek-Travnik was not politically
active or well known previous to her nomination and
confirmation as Human Rights Ombudsman.



6. (U) COM asked Cebasek-Travnik about her priorities as
Ombudsman, and, as she has previously indicated in brief
statements to the press, she said that protecting children,
the elderly, and those with disabilities would be her
priority. She noted that she was "not politically active
before her appointment (as Ombudsman)" and that her interests
differ from those of her predecessor, whose agenda was often
dominated by hot topics in the areas of political or racial
discrimination. She was quick to say that she would be
following these areas, but that at the moment, her priority
would be focusing on those groups which she felt lacked
advocacy in Slovenia and "suffered without recourse."


7. (SBU) She also mentioned protecting freedom of speech and
helping people "living in Slovenia without papers" (such
illegal aliens and those who have overstayed visas or
residency permits). When COM asked if the later was a
reference to the "erased" (see reftel for complete
background),Cebasek-Travnik said no, that the "erased" are a
"special category of people" whose problem "I won't be able
to solve." She noted that the "Constitutional Court's ruling
must be obeyed," but that she would not weigh in on what type
of law was used and what the specific outcome should be.
Cebasek-Travnik told COM that she had spent considerable time
reading and being briefed on these issues, and when COM
inquired as to how many of the "erased" her office believed
are still without citizenship or permanent residency, she
said that she too has been asking this question, and that
best estimates are somewhere between 150 and 1,000 people.


8. (SBU) On the Roma, Cebasek-Travnik reminded COM that she
is from the Prekmurje region (one of the regions with the
largest number of Roma in Slovenia and the region that has
traditionally had the most cooperation between local Slovenes
and Roma) went to school with Roma, treated Roma during her
time as a doctor in Murska Sobota, and knows Roma well. She
said the problems this past fall with the Strojan family were
unfortunate, but that this was the exception, not the rule in
terms of Slovenian-Roma relations. She felt the media
over-publicized the story, that the Strojan family was a
"minority of a minority" with an unflattering history, and
that the most important goal should be solving problems for
the "majority of the minority" of Roma.


9. (SBU) Cebasek-Travnik also talked extensively about her
work on alcoholism in Slovenia (the chief topic of her
Humphrey studies) and told COM about her failed efforts to
establish a branch of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD),
citing the lack of a "critical mass" as the top problem for
activists and NGOs here. She said that strong civil society
groups, like MADD, are critical for publicizing issues and
pushing forward legislative changes, and expressed
frustration at the difficulty of starting groups like this in
Slovenia. Cebasek-Travnik also noted this problem in the
media, saying that resources for the media are small, and
offering that she felt an article she had written on
alcoholism had not been published because of the influence of
advertisers (specifically Slovenia's two breweries Lasko and
Union) on editorial content. She noted that strengthening
civil society, with MADD as an example, was one major
opportunity for fruitful cooperation between the U.S. and
Slovenia in the future. Keying off Cebasek-Travnik's
comments on protecting older people, COM also noted the
strength of American civil society groups for the retired,
notably AARP.

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Comment
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10. (SBU) Zdenka Cebasek-Travnik's appointment corresponds
with President Drnovsek's streak of independence on high
level nominees and is an interesting and surprising choice
for the position given her lack of experience on the majority
of human rights issues. Some pundits have said her lack of
political affiliation and interest in less prominent human
rights concerns helped ensure that she would receive
parliamentary approval. Cebasek-Travnik, who apologized at
the beginning of the meeting for her lack of protocol savvy
and told COM that this was her first visit from an
Ambassador, was clearly still getting used to her new
position. While it is uncertain how strong an advocate she
will be as Ombudsman, it is obvious that she will be
significantly less confrontational with the GOS than her
predecessor, at least at the beginning of her term. That
said, human rights onlookers seem willing to give her a
chance before condemning her lack of experience and
assertiveness on the hot human rights issues in Slovenia.

While Cebasek-Travnik seems less likely to be a spur in the
GOS's side, she also seems genuinely interested in
depoliticizing the work of the Ombudsman's Office and helping
expand the work it does for the good of the Slovenian people.

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Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman Background and
Biographical Note
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11. (U) The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman is an
independent, constitutionally mandated office within the
Government of Slovenia that serves as the source of final
resort for Slovenian citizens seeking assistance in
protecting their human rights or fundamental freedoms.
Practically, the Slovenian Human Rights Ombudsman handles
complaints in the areas of: constitutional rights,
restrictions of personal liberty, access to social security,
employment and legal rights, judicial procedures,
environmental and space planning, commercial public services,
housing, children's rights, and discrimination.
Cebasek-Travnik is the third Ombudsman in the history of
Slovenia. She replaces most recent Ombudsman Matjaz Hanzek,
who was noted for his criticism of the government,
particularly in the last few months of his six-year term. He
did not seek a second term.


12. (U) Zdenka Cebasek-Travnik was born February 13, 1955 in
Murska Sobota, Slovenia. She earned a her M.D. from the
University of Ljubljana in 1979, a Master of Medical Science
at the University of Zagreb in 1993, and a Ph.D. in Medical
Science at the University of Ljubljana in 1998. She also
earned an undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University
in 1994 and has studied in the United Kingdom. Prior to
taking office as Ombudsman, Cebasek-Travnik was the Acting
Director of the Psychiatric Clinic in Ljubljana and the
Education Assistant to the Expert Director of the Psychiatric
Clinic in Ljubljana from 2004 to 2007. From 2000 to 2004 she
was Head of the Clinical Department for Mental Health at the
Psychiatric Clinic and from 1995 to 2000 she was Head of the
Center for Medical Treatment of Alcoholics at the Psychiatric
Clinic. Prior to that she worked as a medical doctor in
Murska Sobota and as a Psychiatrist at the Psychiatric Clinic
in Vojnik, Slovenia. She has authored numerous articles on
alcoholism and domestic therapy, and is a court expert in the
field of psychiatry. She is not a member of any political
party.
ROBERTSON