Respect and the implementation of ethic principles are the basis of a partnership between the giver and the receiver of social services, however, our society still discriminates and excludes people with special needs and everyone else who needs help and protection, chair of the Social Chamber Zmaga Prost said at the opening of a debate on the protection of human rights in social security which got underway in Ljubljana on Friday morning.

Speaking at the event were Bojana Cvahte and Martina Jekole of the office of the Slovenian Human Rights Ombudsman. Cvahte stressed that the state and the local communities have not been sufficiently active in helping individuals overcome their problems. According to Cvahte, the first contact with social services needs to be as good as possible, as the ombudsman has found in his reports that successful protection of human rights often depends on the quality of the first social help offered to individuals. Therefore, she added, it is important that qualified professionals deal with these cases.

Moreover, the ombudsman's office called on the state and local communities to take part in establishing the necessary conditions for a larger network of professionals offering help at home to those who need it. Seen from the point of view of human rights, it is the right of every person, be it young or old, healthy or ill, to stay in the home environment for as long as possible, said Cvahte.

As she pointed out, the waiting periods in old people's homes are too long, while hospitals lack departments for extended medical care. Saving money on account of human dignity is unacceptable and unethical, said Cvahte, adding that financial social aid and other forms of financial aid are insufficient and do not provide adequate social security.

Meanwhile, Martina Jenkole focused on the protection of children's rights. She pointed to the long periods that responsible institutions that are supposed to work to the child's best benefit need to respond to problematic situations. She also expressed a belief that parents rights are too often placed before the rights of the child and that the procedures simply take too long.

According to the ombudsman's office, the vaguely defined position of the child and unclarified meaning of the notion "to the child's best benefit" are the toughest nuts to crack in cases of protecting the rights of children. However, this notion should in fact be the guiding line in making decisions and carrying out measures, Jenkole stressed.

What is important in such issues are speed and efficiency of action, interdisciplinary cooperation and cooperation between different institutions, the shaping of suitable interdisciplinary teams and of a supporting network of help services. Some significant changes are to be contributed by the act on marriages and domestic relations, Jenkole believed.

Also participating in the debate were Lidija Apohal Vuckovic, state secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs, Secretary General of the Slovenian Red Cross Srecko Zajc, and representatives of several other Slovenian social security institutions.

 

SOURCE: STA (Slovenian Press agency), 23. 1. 2004