President of the Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia Jana Ahčin attended ceremony at the 10th anniversary of the Advocate of the Principle of Equality, an independent and autonomous state body specialised for protection against discrimination.
It has been 10 years since Protection Against Discrimination Act was adopted that set foundations for the establishment of Advocate of the Principle of Equality – the key state body for the protection against discrimination – thus it organised a ceremony to celebrate its 10th anniversary, held at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana. The participants were addressed by the President of the Republic of Slovenia dr. Nataša Pirc Musar, Human Rights Ombudsman dr. Simona Drenik Bavdek, Head of European Commission Representation in Slovenia dr. Jerneja Jug Jerše and Advocate of the Principle of Equality Miha Lobnik. They all agreed that Slovenia caught up with the country's multi-year backlog in implementing European directives on ensuring equal treatment and equal opportunities regardless of personal circumstances.
President of the Republic of Slovenia dr. Nataša Pirc Musar in her speech pointed out that Miha Lobnik and his team have built an institution that can be compared in their professional capacity to much older institutions in other countries of the European Union. “Slovenia was among the last countries of the European Union that founded specialised body to protect citizens against discrimination. Gradually, an authority was established which today professionally and responsibly carries out all tasks defined by the law,” said and thanked on behalf of the State to the Advocate of the Principle of Equality and all its employees.
Head of European Commission Representation in Slovenia dr. Jerneja Jug Jerše stressed that non-discrimination is the basic value of the European Union and thus protected by clear and firm legal framework. She said that Advocate of the Principle of Equality is the institution implementing the legal protection of equality in practice and noted that the State has the responsibility to implement new European legislation pertaining to standards for bodies protecting equality and thus strengthen the Advocate's position. “Strong and independent bodies protecting equality provide justice for an individual. They help build Europe where everybody can fully and without fear participate in the society”, she believes.
Advocate of the Principle of Equality is an independent state body founded to promote equal treatment and to provide protection against discrimination. Protection Against Discrimination Act (ZVarD) which governs its activities was adopted by the National Assembly on 21 April 2016.