Varuh ДЌlovekovih pravic

Meeting with the Hungarian Ombudsman

The Slovenian Human Rights Ombudsman, Peter Svetina, has met with the Hungarian Ombudsman, Dr Ákos Kozma. At their first meeting, they discussed the challenges that the institutions for the protection of human rights faced in their operations.

Ombudsman Svetina advocated the strengthening of the role of national human rights institutions, highlighting the importance of their financial independence and operation in accordance with the Paris Principles. In his view, they can only perform their tasks effectively if they are independent of the institutions they supervise. He presented the institution of Slovenian Human Rights Ombudsman to his Hungarian colleague, noting that while this field was relatively well regulated in Slovenia, it still faced many challenges, a fact that the Ombudsman regularly brings to the attention of the Slovenian Government and other bodies exercising public powers.

He added that human rights need constant attention, since any violation of an individual's rights marks and affects their life; in agreement, the two ombudsmen advocated for a closer partnership betwen their respective institutions, which are currently cooperating most actively in the area of the National Preventative Mechanism. Mr Svetina went on to say that the Slovenian Ombudsman pays special attention to the exercise and protection of the rights of the autochthonous national communities and agreed with Ombudsman Kozma to inform each other on any violations of collective or individual minority rights and to search for appropriate measures and solutions together. The delegations also exchanged information on processing complaints against police operations, on strengthening international cooperation and on cooperation with NGOs.

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