"The "erasure" of thousands of people from the Register of Permanent Residents of Slovenia in 1992 continues to adversely affect the human rights of many ‘erased' persons. The Slovenian government should step up its efforts and provide adequate reparation to all victims" said Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, in a letter addressed to the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Mr Janez Janša, published today.
The Commissioner calls on the Slovenian authorities to review the 2010 Legal Status Act in order to facilitate the re-inclusion into Slovenian society of those "erased" persons who still wish to have their residence status restored. He is particularly concerned at the low number of applications and granted requests under this law, which may a indicate lack of effectiveness. "It would be useful to extend the deadline for the submission of applications for permanent residence, which expires next July, and to exempt the "erased" persons from the payment of the relevant administrative fees."
"I have noted with satisfaction that the Slovenian authorities translated a brochure aimed at informing the "erased" persons about the procedure that may lead to the granting of permanent residence into several regional languages. Additional efforts are necessary to ensure wider dissemination of such information."
In addition, the Commissioner raises his particular concern about the plight of those, especially children, who became and may still be stateless following the "erasure". "The right to a nationality is a human right and member states have the obligation to prevent statelessness. Slovenia should provide a remedy and accede to the Council of Europe Conventions on Nationality and on the Avoidance of Statelessness in Relation to State Succession."