The 14th of October, the closing date for the call for nominations for a new Human Rights Ombudsman, is fast approaching. Among those who have announced their candidacy is – in addition to the current Ombudsman, Peter Svetina – also Katarina Bervar Sternad, Director of the Legal Centre for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (PIC), but her candidacy is very worrying because in this particular case, we are talking about a person who has been providing a lot of support to illegal migration for years within the framework of the aforementioned Centre.
A call for proposals for possible candidates for the post of Human Rights Ombudsman was launched by the President of the Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar, at the end of August. According to the web portal MMC, the current Ombudsman, Peter Svetina, announced in July that he would run for re-election. According to information circulating in the media, Miha Lobnik, the current defender of the principle of equality, is also expected to run. Andraž Zidar, a lawyer, has also submitted a candidacy proposal. There is talk of a second candidacy by former Ombudsman Vlasta Nussdorfer, who has already retired.
The official nominator is the Slovenian Association of Friends of Youth
On Monday, Katarina Bervar Sternad announced via Facebook that she would also run for the post of Human Rights Ombudsman. As she noted, the official nominator for her candidacy is the Slovenian Association of Friends of Youth (Zveza prijateljev mladine Slovenije). “I am delighted that my twenty years of work for human rights have been recognised by more than a hundred disability, humanitarian and other organisations, led by the Slovenian Association of Friends of Youth – ZPMS – a pioneer in the fight for the rights of children and adolescents, which is the official proposer of my candidacy,” she wrote.
In her announcement, Bervar Sternad also pointed out that she has been “fighting for the rights of people with disabilities, the young and the elderly, the poor, victims of domestic violence, foreigners and refugees, as well as for nature and the environment for twenty years,” and that she was proud, among other things, that “The Legal Centre for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment, together with other individuals and civil society organisations” had succeeded in “making drinking water in Slovenia better protected.” “I am also one of the co-founders of the Legal Network for the Protection of Democracy, which has proven to be essential for the protection of fundamental human rights, such as freedom of speech and the rule of law, at a time of a major health crisis,” she also noted.
“I believe that independent institutions need committed individuals, individuals who know people’s problems, the shortcomings of the current practice and the importance of systemic change. This is the only way to ensure prosperity and respect for human rights for the widest possible range of people,” Bervar Sternad pointed out, among other things. However, given that she has been involved in the past in undermining not only the Slovenian legal order, but even Schengen itself, it is not surprising that many are critical of her candidacy.
Hojs: She abused the rule of law
“It is scandalous that such a person or such a thing could even cross the minds of some people, that she could even become the Human Rights Ombudsman,” former Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs criticised Bervar Sternad’s candidacy.
“If you look at what she was doing at the time, abusing the rule of law in terms of telling migrants what to do to avoid what they actually are. So, migrants abusing the social system under the guise of presenting themselves as refugees,” Hojs pointed out, adding that it was scandalous that “such a person can get into any selection, let alone even be shortlisted to become an Ombudsman.” In this case, even Lobnik would have been a better choice, he said.
In his comment, Hojs was referring to a story we have previously already reported on, about Bervar Sternad giving migrants detailed instructions on how to enter Slovenia and what to do not to be sent back to Croatia.
An official note from the Police Station Črnomelj from 2018 shows that in a telephone conversation with the police in Črnomelj, Bervar Sternad introduced herself as the director of the Legal-Informational Centre for NGOs and said that they had been called by foreigners who were in the area of the Črnomelj Police station. She told the police that the migrants were located near the settlement of Učakovci and that they all wished to apply for international protection. She then sent a GPS location of the place where the foreigners were located to the phone of the police officer on duty and, at the same time, sent it to the e-mail of the Črnomelj Police station. In the e-mail, she provided the names and birth data of four Afghan migrants. In the e-mail, Bervar Sternad also threatened the police officers “that if the aliens were to be returned to Croatia, she would file criminal charges against the police officers.”
The notice of the Police station Črnomelj also says: “When stating their reasons for seeking international protection, they state that they are applying for international protection in Slovenia because they were advised to do so by representatives of the NGOs from the Republic of Slovenia who visited them in Bosnia and Herzegovina.” The migrants also said that representatives of NGOs in Bosnia and Herzegovina had given them instructions on what to do when they arrived on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia so that they would not be returned to neighbouring Croatia. The migrants also handed a copy of the instructions to the police officers during the police procedure. The leaflet contains the exact instructions on what to do upon arrival to Slovenia, as well as the contact telephone numbers of the following NGOs: the Slovenian Philanthropy, the Association ODNOS, and the Legal-Informational Centre for Non-Governmental Organisations – PIC.
A similar thing is also happening at the Ilirska Bistrica Police Station. An official notice shows that in July, at the camp Velika Kladuša, a migrant contacted the Legal-Informational Centre for NGOs. The camp was visited by “Andrej and an unidentified woman who introduced herself as a lawyer from the Legal-Informational Centre for NGOs.” They explained to the migrant how to apply for asylum and also offered him free legal assistance in obtaining asylum status in Slovenia. They gave him a telephone number, which he used to communicate with them through the WhatsApp mobile application. He told the police that he had been in contact with the Legal-Informational Centre for NGOs the whole time. He said that before they left Bosnia and Herzegovina, he had to provide the Centre in question with information about the people travelling with him. Representatives of the Legal-Informational Centre for NGOs had told him that it would not be difficult for the police to detain them when they crossed the Croatian-Slovenian border and that he should also keep them informed of the police procedure.
All of the above did not stop Pirc Musar from awarding Bervar Sternad the President of the Republic of Slovenia’s Human Rights Award. But will Bervar Sternad, who is a member of the ONA VE (She Knows) association, whose founders include the President of the Republic and the Slovenian candidate for the post of European Commissioner, Marta Kos, succeed in her big throw to replace Svetina as Human Rights Ombudsman? The head of this institution is undoubtedly expected to work to ensure that the rights of all citizens are protected in a fair and balanced manner.
Ž. N.
