Laws regulating peaceful protest remained contrary to international law. The shortage of family doctors left 140,000 people without adequate access to primary healthcare. The “erased” who were not able to restore their residency continued to lack access to basic rights. Roma and LGBTI people faced discrimination. The government imposed stricter penalties on some harmful emissions but dropped commitments to ending fossil fuel subsidies.
Freedom of expression, association and assembly
The Public Assemblies Act remained inconsistent with international law.1 Specifically, it failed to define permissible police conduct precisely enough, allowing for significant dispersal powers. Legislation also placed disproportionate responsibilities on protest organizers, including making them liable for damages for deaths or physical injuries resulting from extraordinary circumstances such as crowd movement and generalized disorder.
Right to health
A significant shortage of family doctors persisted across the country, with approximately 140,000 people lacking adequate access to primary healthcare.
More than 230,000 women and girls older than 13 were unable to access sexual and reproductive healthcare due to a shortage of health professionals in their area. Civil society organizations warned that this number could double over the next five years as existing gynaecologists retired.
The National Institute of Public Health noted in April that access to healthcare services had significantly weakened over the preceding 10 years.
In September, the government adopted a new strategy for primary healthcare, which envisaged a coordinated approach to ensuring a more accessible, fair and sustainable public health system.
The government also proposed amendments to the Health Services Act aimed at strengthening the public health network and regulating conditions for public health workers in the private sector. Some civil society groups warned that the proposal encouraged further privatization of healthcare. Instead, they argued, the focus should be on strengthening the public health system to ensure adequate financing and accessibility for everyone without discrimination.
Discrimination
The “erased”
The remaining “erased” people – citizens of other former Yugoslav republics still excluded from the official registry of permanent residents after being unconstitutionally removed in 1992 – continued to live precariously.
In February, the government rejected a draft law to restore their permanent residency, which had been prepared by civil society groups with the support of the President’s Office. This meant the “erased” continued to be denied the rights to access health insurance, work and housing guaranteed by residency status.2
Roma
Roma people continued to face social exclusion and discrimination, particularly those living in isolated and segregated informal settlements in south-east Slovenia. Many lived in poorly constructed homes, lacking security of tenure, and without access to drinking water, sanitation and electricity.
LGBTI people
People seeking legal gender recognition in official identity documents were still required to obtain a certificate for a mental health disorder diagnosis from a health institution or a doctor.
Refugees’ and migrants’ rights
In June, Slovenia reintroduced temporary border controls with Croatia and Hungary for six months, citing emerging security threats connected to migration.
Right to a healthy environment
In March, an amendment to the Environmental Protection Act imposed stricter limits on harmful emissions from co-incineration plants.
The government was preparing a Climate Law, with some proposals falling short of the country’s Paris Agreement commitments. The Climate Council, an independent advisory board, criticized the government for reneging on the promise to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies.
In response to unprecedented floods in 2023, authorities made major flood adaptations to improve the country’s resilience to intense rainfall.
