Slovenian Office for Equal Opportunities

Date established:

20 June 1992

Mode of establishment:

Government decision

Status:

Governmental agency

Mandate/objectives:

Decision on the establishment, organisation and working areas of the Office for Equal Opportunities

(available in Slovene at http://www.uem-rs.si/slo/predstavitev/dejavnosti.html)

The Office carries out the following tasks for the Government of the Republic of Slovenia:

1 co-ordination of the formulation of policies and the drafting of regulations in the area of prevention and abolition of discrimination, in particular the transposition of EU regulations related to the realisation of the principle of equal treatment, irrespective of a person’s race or ethnic origin, and the general framework for equal opportunities in relation to employment;

2 monitoring the position of women and the realisation of their rights, guaranteed by the Constitution, national legislation and international conventions;

3 examination of regulations, acts and measures in view of equal opportunities for men and women, and drafting of opinions and proposals related to texts adopted by Government and ministries;

4 participation in the drafting of regulations and other acts and measures prepared by ministries, which relate to the creation of equal opportunities for women and men;

5 presenting initiatives and proposals to the Government and ministries for measures related to equal opportunities and to the prevention and abolition of discrimination;

6 drawing up analyses, reports and other material in the area of equal opportunities for women and men;

7 promoting the creation of equal opportunities for women and men by supplying information and raising awareness;

8 dealing with initiatives put forward by non-governmental organisations active in the area of equal opportunities for women and men;

9 representing the Government in international and regional organisations involved in the promotion of equal opportunities for women and men.

Grounds of Discrimination covered:

Nationality, racial or ethnic origin, sex, state of health, disability, language, religious or other conviction, age, sexual orientation, education, financial status, social status or other personal circumstances.

Competences and responsibilities:

· co-ordinating the activities of individual ministries and governmental services that relate to the implementation of the Act Implementing the Principle of Equal Treatment;

· performing technical and administrative duties for the Council of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia concerning the Implementation of the Principle of Equal Treatment;

· monitoring the implementation of the provisions of the Act on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men and regulations enacted on its basis;

· monitoring individual fields of social life from a gender equality perspective and proposing the adoption or amendment of laws and other regulations, as well as the adoption of new measures, to government and ministries;

· co-ordinating activities aimed at implementing gender mainstreaming, including providing professional assistance for the development of appropriate methods and techniques;

· co-ordinating the preparation of the national programme on equal opportunities for women and men and monitoring its implementation;

· co-ordinating the preparation of national reports on the fulfilment of international obligations by the Republic of Slovenia in the field of equal opportunities;

· proposing initiatives for necessary research and analyses to support the implementation of the national programme;

· co-operating with non-governmental organisations active in the field of equal opportunities and providing partial funding for their projects or activities.

Main activities:

· Conducting independent surveys on discrimination: The Advocate of the Principle of Equality, who functions within the Office for Equal Opportunities, starts the procedure according to protocol with a written or verbal initiative. The Advocate may request the persons involved to provide her with appropriate explanations within a specified time limit, and may also invite all persons involved to an interview if she considers that this would contribute to clarifying a case.

· Providing assistance to victims of discrimination: The Advocate may order the protection of discriminated person from victimisation or adverse consequences as a reaction to a complaint or to proceedings before the Advocate.

· Publishing independent opinions and making recommendations on issues relating to such discrimination: The Advocate concludes a case by a written opinion in which she states her findings and informs both parties about them. If she establishes that there was a breach of the prohibition of discrimination, she issues a recommendation on how it should be remedied and requests the alleged offender to inform her, within a specified time limit, of the adopted measures. If the offender does not comply with the Advocate’s opinion, she notifies the competent inspection service (for instance, if it a case of discrimination in employment or work she notifies to the Labour Inspection Service). In such case, the inspector is obliged to adopt the Advocate’s opinion and propose to the misdemeanours judge the introduction of a procedure due to a misdemeanour.

· Providing legal advice: The Office for Equal Opportunities runs a free, anonymous telephone line which is open to anyone who needs advice to resolve problems related to discrimination in the workplace, seeking employment, domestic violence and other forms of sex-based inequalities.

Promotion of equality:

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Publications:

Regular publications of the Office for Equal opportunities:

· Annual report of the Advocate for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (2003 report available at http://www.uem-rs.si/slo/zagovornica_porocilo2003.doc in Slovene)

· Annual report of the Advocate of the Principle of Equality (recently took office)

· Regular reports to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (third report available at http://www.uem-rs.si/eng/convention.doc)

List of other publications of the Office for Equal opportunities:

http://www.uem-rs.si/eng/publications.html#1)

Management:

The Office is headed by the Director who is responsible to the Secretary-General of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia.

Nomination of senior staff and board:

The Director is selected on the basis of a public advertisement and nominated by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for a five-year period.

Number of Staff:

10

Budget:

The budget is approved by Parliament.

Annual budget: ca. 82,000,000 SIT (ca. 341,600 €).

Accountability:

Annual Report to government on the Office’s activities and on the findings of the Advocate for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men and of the Advocate of the Principle of Equality.