According to Peter Svetina, the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia, "the standard of human rights is relatively high in Slovenia" in spite of certain open issues. The developments in recent years, including present crises, have thoroughly shaken our sense of security and our value system, while our fear of the unknown is greater than ever before, stated Svetina. "Trust, democratic dialogue, integration, mutual respect, humanity and benevolence, which are the foundations of human rights, are being put to the test now more than ever before. But because we have the option to choose, we can, as a country, society or individuals, always put our fellow human beings first," the Ombudsman believes.

On this year’s Human Rights Day, Ombudsman Svetina wants to encourage us to recall two Slovenian words more frequently in our professional and private lives, i.e. človek (human) and ljub (dear). "If we take care of our fellow human beings with compassion and care, we do not only provide conditions for their high-quality life, but also for the entire community," he added.

Human rights are universal, indivisible and equal for everyone, and to this end, the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on their full observance on Human Rights Day. In this year, human rights were an important priority topic at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry stated that visible international milestones were attained in the field of integrating the living environment issues with human rights and when striving for enhanced protection of human rights of the elderly at the global level. The Slovenian diplomacy also defended women’s human rights and supported women’s full integration into political, security, economic, development and other processes at all levels.