The Ombudsman works to ensure that all children, regardless of their personal circumstances or background, enjoy their rights without discrimination, including the right to a safe and supportive environment. The Ombudsman stresses that children must be the holders of all rights and not just the objects of protection. It pays special attention to children who have taken refuge in our country because of serious crises in their home countries, such as war, famine, persecution or natural disasters.

In this context, and in order to review the social and living conditions, on 12 June 2023, the Deputy Ombudsman for Children's Rights, Dr Jože Ruparčič, visited the orphans from the Lugansk Regional Orphanage, who, as a result of the war in Ukraine, have been accommodated since the beginning of May 2022 at the Secondary School for Forestry and Wood Technology in Postojna and at the accommodation facility in the village of Slavina near Postojna. On 14 April 2022, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia decided to provide adequate accommodation for 20 children, mostly preschoolers, and their accompanying staff with their own children during the activation of temporary protection under the Law on Temporary Protection of Displaced Persons.

After visiting and inspecting the facilities for the children and talking to the staff, Deputy Ombudsman Ruparčič assessed that the children, with the support of the Slovenian Office for the Care and Integration of Migrants and the many volunteers in Slovenia, are provided with adequate care and support, as well as with a healthy, safe, and pleasant living environment.

He said that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the basis on which we must create quality conditions for the healthy development of children and, in the case of war in one country in particular, show selfless assistance to people in need. "The project of placing Ukrainian orphans in Slavina is an example of good practice of inter-state cooperation with the aim of providing children with a safe childhood, which is one of their fundamental rights," said Dr Jože Ruparčič during his visit. He expressed the Ombudsman's appreciation for the institution's sensitivity and efficiency in ensuring optimal living conditions for children, which was further elaborated by the Head of the Lugansk Orphanage, Katarina Dontsova. She said that the children in Slovenia feel well, that they have made developmental progress, and that there is a daily transfer of knowledge between Slovenian and Ukrainian volunteers and accompanying staff in the framework of childcare. She praised the cooperation with the Government Office for the Support and Integration of Migrants of the Republic of Slovenia and the Hall of Residence of the Secondary School for Forestry and Wood Technology in Postojna.

In conversation with Katarina Štrukelj, MSc, Director of the Government Office for the Support and Integration of Migrants, and Cvetka Kernel, who was the headmistress of the Hall of Residence until last year and is now in charge of the smooth implementation of the project, the Deputy Ombudsman, Dr Jože Ruparčič, stressed the importance of solidarity and expressed the expectation that children who are already without parents and had to leave the place that provided them with shelter, care, and love, will be provided with regular psychological and social support.

The Deputy Ombudsman reiterated that all states, and in particular the signatories to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including Slovenia and Ukraine, are obliged to comply with their obligations under the Convention. He recalled that in accordance with Article 3 of the Convention, the best interests of the child must be the primary consideration in all activities relating to them, whether they are carried out by public or private social welfare institutions, courts, administrative authorities, or legislative bodies. He also stressed that the contracting states also undertook to provide children with the care and protection they need and to take all appropriate legislative and administrative measures to that end. "Contracting states are under an obligation to ensure that establishments, services, and institutions responsible for the care or protection of children will adapt to comply with the standards prescribed by the competent authorities, in particular in the areas of safety, health, and the number and qualifications of the staff, and to ensure that there is adequate supervision," stressed the Deputy Ombudsperson for Children's Rights.