The ombudsman has raised questionable efficiency of legislation in upholding human rights and deficient supervision in the Human Rights Report for 2010. Receiving the report from Ombudsman Zdenka Cebasek Travnik on Tuesday, Parliamentary Speaker Pavel Gantar said that the human rights situation in Slovenia has nevertheless improved.

Cebasek Travnik warned at Tuesday's press conference that she was no closer to getting an answer on the question raised in last year's report about whether Slovenia was still a welfare state.

The ombudsman highlighted problems of collision between new legislation and established rights, and criticised lawmakers for shrinking from the adoption of required legislation, such as changes to improve health insurance for children.

The ombudsman also expressed hope that the family law would eventually be implemented, putting an end to the "disgraceful situation" where corporal punishment of children is permitted.

The report also mentions the poor as a new group of people whose human rights are frequently violated. The ombudsman established that they had limited access to some key rights required to uphold their social security.

In addition to raising the plight of the children and the elderly, Cebasek Travnik pointed to the group of people who have been "forgotten by the state".

This group includes the victims of war and other people whose status remains undetermined as the state shows no intention of adopting the necessary legal changes.

Cebasek Travnik stressed that Slovenia remained without a national institution that would deal with prevention and research of the human rights situation, as her work is limited to dealing with complaints from people.

Following the meeting with Cebasek Travnik, Gantar agreed that several problems dealing with human rights remained opened, but assessed that there has been notable progress in this field in recent year.

He acknowledged that the legislative process lacked feedback and added that it was the lawmakers' responsibility to ensure the monitoring of the impact of individual laws on the lives of people and on human rights.

Cebasek Travnik's report, which includes 101 recommendations across different areas, is expected to be discussed by MPs in the autumn.

The recommendations include immediate legislative changes that will provide for a fair treatment of immigrant workers, more control over the granting of private licenses to doctors in public institutions, and faster employment solutions for the unemployed, including through public works schemes.

The ombudsman has also urged the state to resolve the issue of the erased, tackle incitement to hatred and violence, deal with growing housing problems, and provide relief to over-crammed kindergartens.