AN OPEN LETTER

AN OPEN LETTER  

to the general public, to professional bodies, to state institutions, to the media, to politicians of every party and to the current Government of the Republic of Slovenia.

In 2001 we committed to standing with victims of human trafficking. That commitment holds today. The standards of support we have developed over the years are high. We speak out publicly only rarely — but always when there are attempts to lower the professional standards already achieved in securing the rights of trafficking victims, or to belittle those standards.

Into the programme Care for victims of human trafficking — accommodation in a safe space five Filipino nationals were enrolled in 2024. They were part of the story we heard in the report on the programme Tarča on 15 May 2025 — stories of labour exploitation, human rights violations and serious violence. We identified all of these Filipino nationals as victims of human trafficking.

They bravely accepted the invitation from Tarča to take part and give their account. To tell their story. And they did — some with tears in their eyes, but also with a real spark of courage and fight. And above all with trust that Slovenia has a working system for protecting victims and prosecuting perpetrators.

The story reported by Tarča, was a one-day story. What do all victims of human trafficking have in common? That they lose their voice and their ability to choose, and become unheard and invisible.

And once again their voice went unheard. Treated as unimportant. Their story vanished into oblivion as quickly as it surfaced. All of which only confirms what the people we support already believe: that their story does not matter, that their voice is worth nothing and their pain goes unacknowledged. All they want is justice. An acknowledgement that what happened to them was wrong. And that nobody deserves such an experience.

That is why we are speaking out. Because their voice matters. Because this abuse must not happen. Because for potential and actual victims of trafficking it is essential that the system works — and works beyond reproach.

It is therefore also worth stressing that Slovenia is a signatory to many international instruments that oblige it to take measures for an effective fight against human trafficking. The measures those documents set out range from preventing trafficking, identifying and protecting victims, through to effective investigation, prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators. The state's international legal commitments thus reflect an awareness that the fight against human trafficking — surely one of the most appalling violations of human rights and dignity — demands a comprehensive response. The measures the state is obliged to take are inseparable from one another: protection and support for victims cannot be adequate without effective prevention mechanisms, and still less so without effective investigation and prosecution of traffickers.

An investigation can only be effective if it is independent (institutionally and in practice), prompt, based on an objective and thorough examination of all the circumstances, and gives the victim an appropriate standing in the proceedings. All of these criteria derive from international legal standards and should be understood as the starting point — the minimum — for the protection of human rights, safety and human dignity: standards Slovenia should not fall short of.

Let this letter serve as a call on everyone with responsibility to take it up: to make oversight mechanisms effective at every level, to ensure that the most vulnerable are not abused, and, by acting, to restore the trust of both victims and civil society in the systems meant to uphold human rights and to monitor and prosecute such abuse.

Polona Kovač,

President