LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), April 23 (SeeNews) – Slovenia's criminal justice system lacks adequate resources to investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate high-level corruption cases, according to an annual report published by the US Department of State.
Slovenia's law provides criminal and civil penalties for corruption, conflicts of interest, and illegal lobbying by officials, but it lacks proper enforcement mechanisms, the 2017 Human Rights Practices report shows.
The public also widely views official corruption to be a problem, the State Department said.
Moreover, it noted, that while Slovenia's law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, societal discrimination was widespread in 2017.
An NGO focused on LGBTI rights reported that 49% of LGBTI individuals had experienced violence or discrimination based on their sexual orientation at least once, and approximately 44% experienced violence or bullying in schools.
"While the law and implementing regulations establish procedures for gender changes, LGBTI NGOs maintained the provisions are too general, subject to misinterpretation, and insufficiently protect the rights to health, privacy, and physical integrity of transgender persons," the report found.
The State Department also said that Slovenia was the site of forced labour in the reporting period.
"While the law prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor, and the government generally enforced the law, forced labor occurred and was most prevalent in the metal and wood industry, construction, and catering."
There were also reports women and children were subjected to sex trafficking and that men, women, and children were subjected to forced labour in the construction sector and in forced begging.
In terms of press freedom, although the government generally respected the law, the Slovenian Association of Journalists and media analysts observed that standards of journalistic integrity suffered because of economic pressure; nonstandard forms of employment; and reduced protections for journalists, leading some to practice self-censorship in order to maintain steady employment.
Local media, some of which received funding at the municipality level, sometimes reflected the outlook of local political or business leaders.
The State Department, however, noted that there were no reports of egregious human rights abuses in Slovenia in 2017, praising the government for taking steps to investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the government.