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APPEAL TO THE
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, DEALING
WITH THE PROBLEM OF
THE ERASED PERSONS IN SLOVENIA
- Commissioner for Human Rights of the
Council of Europe
- European Commission against Racism
and Intollerance (ECRI)
- UN Committee on Human Rights
- UN Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights
- Committee on Petitions of the
European Parliament
- European Court of Human Rights
- Amnesty International
Sixteen years after the erasure of 18.305 persons,
former citizens of ex-Yugoslavia, from the register
of permanent residents of Slovenia, which was
declared illegal by the Constitutional Court in
1999, the problem is still unresolved. The
implementation of the second decision of the
Constitutional Court from 2003, demanding quick
resolution of the problem, was first avoided by the
Government, fearing the xenophobic pressures of the
opposition (in 2003 and 2004) – and is now, when the
opposition of that time came to power, totally
blocked and even ignored by the actual Government.
That's why the pressure of international
institutions on Slovenia remains our only hope –
and, in this appeal to them, we are trying to draw
their attention to the fact that also all their
supports till now were in vain.
A. To those of them which had already
supported our cause
1. The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council
of Europe requested even two times, in his reports
in 2003 and 2005, a quick and complete
implementation of the decisions of the
Constitutional Court. Both recommendations: totally
ignored.
2. Almost the same was done also by the European
Commission against Racism and Intollerance (ECRI),
two times as well. Both recommendations: totally
ignored.
3. The UN Committee on Human Rights issued its
recommendations, similar to those aforementioned, in
its report on Slovenia from July 2005. Totally
ignored in Slovenia – not only by the Government,
but even by the main media.
4. The findings and the recommendations of the UN
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(in its report on Slovenia from November 2005) were
even stronger than those aforementioned, due also to
the strong engagement of the Amnesty International
in favour of the erased. Exactly as in the former
case, also this time the Government totally ignored
not only the contents of the recommendations, but
also the repeated special request that they should
be »widely disseminated throughout the State party
in all appropriate languages«. On the contrary – the
silence about reports of both UN Committees was
almost complete.
B. To those of them which are still dealing
with this issue
1. The Committee on Petitions of the European
Parliament discussed our »Petition No. 320/2005« on
26 February 2007 and decided to request the reply of
Slovenian Government to our petition. Till now, we
received no such reply. And it is hard to expect a
fair judgement from the side of EU-institutions
against the Government of the Member State just
presiding the EU, especially in so highly
politicized issue regarding heavy violations of
human rights of so many persons.
2. So, the only hope for us remains the judgement of
the ECHR in Strasbourg in the case no. 26828/06
(Makuc and others against Slovenia). Unfortunately,
just this court of justice is by its rules prevented
to take into account the origin of this issue,
i.e. the illegal erasure itself which happened
two years before Slovenia ratified the European
Convention on Human Rights, and to rule directly on
the consequences of that hard violation of human
rights. Notwithstanding this unhappy circumstance,
we hope that the Court will find the appropriate way
to resolve fairly this difficult and delicate
question where, however, the main violation of human
rights was so clear, so heavy and so great in the
number of victims, although out of direct reach of
the jurisdiction of the ECHR.
3. To the Amnesty International
We are expressing special gratitude and thanks to
the Amnesty International for all its actions in
favour of the erased in Slovenia and especially for
being the only international institution so far that
has requested also the fair reparation of damage
caused to the erased.
Association of the
Erased Residents of Slovenia,
at it's 6th Annual
Meeting in Ljubljana, 24 February 2008
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