BRATISLAVA, June 2, (WEBNOVINY) — Director of the Slovak National Center for Human Rights (SNSLP) Juraj Horvath appeals to Deputy Prime Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Rudolf Chmel to stop all liquidating efforts aimed at the organization. Horvath sent an open letter to Chmel, reacting to the report on the SNSLP that the Cabinet adopted this Wednesday.
“The material ignores essential comments by the center, it was written with an ill intention, incompetently and with extraordinary legal illiteracy. I fundamentally oppose transferring the human rights agenda of this independent center to public service in the Center for Legal Aid under the scope of the Ministry of Justice or to public service in the office of the Ombudsman,” writes Horvath
The report includes four proposals on how to transform SNSLP: it could face transformation in keeping its functions as both a human rights and equality institution; it could be transformed and only keep competencies in only one of the two fields with moving the other to another body; or the center could be completely shut down and all its competencies moved. After this Wednesday’s Cabinet session, Prime Minister Iveta Radicova did not, however, mention the possibility of abolishing SNSLP, she only discussed restarting it.
Horvath also writes that the SNSLP 2010 report on human rights critically listed problems related to the issue, which is why Chmel wants to abolish them. He also points out that transformation of the center could bring the independent institution under the control of the state, which would go against the philosophy of independent human rights protection.
SITA