ECRE COUNTRY REPORT 2002: SLOVENIA ECRE COUNTRY REPORT 2002: SLOVENIA ARRIVALS 1. Total number of individual asylum seekers who arrived, with monthly breakdown and percentage variation between years: Table 1: Month 2001 2002 Variation +/-(%) January 188 39 -79.3 February 84 59 -29.8 March 150 35 -76.7 April 153 43 -71.9 May 336 63 -81.3 June 146 19 -87.0 July 107 49 -54.2 August 117 28 -76.1 September 56 35 -37.5 October 36 58 +61.1 November 59 114 +93.2 December 69 96 +39.1 TOTAL 1,501 638 -57.5 Source: UNHCR Ljubljana. Comments: The rapid decrease in the number of asylum seekers could be explained by increased border control and the process of stabilisation in former Yugoslavia. 2. Breakdown according to the country of origin/nationality, with percentage variation: Table 2: Country of origin 2001 2002 Variation +/-(%) Iraq 214 131 -38.8 FRY 205 86 -58.0 Turkey 379 73 -80.7 Algeria 44 67 +52.3 Iran 272 54 -80.1 Bosnia-Herzegovina 21 26 +23.8 Pakistan 12 24 +100.0 Russian Federation 5 23 +360.0 Others 349 154 -55.9 TOTAL 1,501 638 -57.5 Source: UNHCR Ljubljana. 3. Persons arriving under family reunification procedure: Figures unavailable. 4. Refugees arriving as part of a resettlement programme: Figures unavailable. 5. Unaccompanied minors: Figures unavailable 225 ECRE COUNTRY REPORT 2002: SLOVENIA RECOGNITION RATES 6. The statuses accorded as an absolute number and as a percentage of total decisions: Table 3: Status 2001 2002 Number % Number % No status 97 1.0 202 24.9 Convention status 1 0.01 *1 0.1 Humanitarian status 24 0.2 2 0.2 Otherwise closed 9,918 98.8 607 74.8 TOTAL 10,040 100 812 100 Source: UNHCR Ljubljana. Comments: *Decision reached on appeal. 7. Refugee recognition rates (1951 Convention and humanitarian statuses combined: as an absolute number) according to country of origin: Table 4: Country of origin 2001 2002 Liberia - *1 Nigeria - 1 FRY 9 1 Sierra Leone 6 - Belarus 4 - Bosnia-Herzegovina 3 - Cameroon 1 - Sudan 1 - Ethiopia 1 - TOTAL 25 3 Source: UNHCR Ljubljana. Comments: *Decision reached on appeal. RETURNS, REMOVALS, DETENTION AND DISMISSED CLAIMS 8. Persons returned on safe third country grounds: Figures unavailable. 9. Persons returned on safe country of origin grounds: Figures unavailable. 10. Number of applications determined inadmissible: Figures unavailable. 11. Number of asylum seekers denied entry to the territory: Figures unavailable. 12. Number of asylum seekers detained, the maximum length of and grounds for detention: Figures unavailable. 13. Deportations of rejected asylum seekers: Figures unavailable. 14. Details of assisted return programmes, and numbers of those returned: Figures unavailable. 226 ECRE COUNTRY REPORT 2002: SLOVENIA 15. Dublin Convention practice comments: Slovenia is not party to the Dublin Convention SPECIFIC REFUGEE GROUPS 16. Developments regarding refugee groups of particular concern: There are virtually no recognised Afghan refugees in Slovenia. According to UNHCR, there were eight Afghan asylum seekers awaiting decisions from 2001 and six new asylum seekers from Afghanistan in 2002. From 2001 there were seventeen Iraqi pending cases and in 2002 131 new asylum seekers from Iraq. LEGAL AND PROCEDURAL DEVELOPMENTS 17. New legislation passed: The Asylum Act 1999 was not amended in 2002. The Minister for Interior Affairs issued a regulation on the means and conditions for granting rights to asylum seekers and foreigners who hold some form of protection. 18. Changes in refugee determination procedure, appeal or deportation procedures: There were no significant changes in these procedures in 2002. 19. Important case-law relating to the qualification for refugee status and other forms of protection: The Supreme Court returned the case of a Liberian asylum seeker to the Ministry of Interior Affairs for reconsideration, whereupon asylum was granted (U 1797/2001). 20. Developments in the use of the exclusion clauses of the Refugee Convention in the context of the national security debate: There were no significant developments in the use of the exclusion clauses in 2002. 21. Developments regarding readmission and cooperation agreements: There were no significant developments regarding readmission and cooperation agreements in 2002. THE SOCIAL DIMENSION 22. Changes in the reception system: A regulation on the means and conditions for granting rights to asylum seekers and foreigners with some form of protection has been adopted. Preparations for construction of the new reception centre in Ljubljana according to EU and UNHCR standards are underway, with the building permit for the structure having been issued in December 2002. The rooms for asylum seekers will be fifteen square metres, and each asylum seeker will have 3.75-7.5 square metres of personal space. 23. Changes in the social welfare policy relevant to refugees: There were no significant changes in the social welfare policy relevant to refugees in 2002. 227 ECRE COUNTRY REPORT 2002: SLOVENIA 24. Changes in policy relating to refugee integration: The rights of refugees are only named in the Asylum Act, rather than defined. Instead such rights are defined in regulations, which do not offer adequate legal protection to refugees. 25. Changes in family reunion policy: There were no significant changes in family reunion policy in 2002. OTHER POLICY DEVELOPMENTS 26. Developments in resettlement policy: There were no significant developments in resettlement policy in 2002. 27. Developments in return policy: There were no significant developments in return policy in 2002. 28. Developments in border control measures: There were no significant developments in border control measures in 2002. 29. Other developments in refugee policy: There were no other significant developments in refugee policy. POLITICAL CONTEXT 30. Government in power during 2002: The Prime Minister, Janez Drnovšek, was elected President of the Republic, while Anton Rop, the new leader of the larger liberal democratic party became Prime Minister of Slovenia. The vast majority of the Government remained the same, the only exceptions being at the Ministry for Finance, where Rop was Minister before becoming Prime Minister, and at the Ministry for School, Science and Sport. Other parties in the Government are the United List of Social Democrats, the Slovenian People’s Party and the Democratic Party of Retired People of Slovenia. 31. Governmental policy vis-à-vis EU developments: The Government has been trying to adapt Slovenian legislation to EU standards as part of the accession process, including legislation in the area of asylum and refugees; hence changes in the debate surrounding EU policy are closely followed in Slovenia. 32. Asylum in the national political agenda: In 2002 asylum was not a priority in the national political agenda. The number of asylum seekers has decreased rapidly in the last three years, preparations for building the new reception centre continue and the regulation on means and conditions for granting rights for asylum seekers has been adopted. In 2002 there were 638 applications for asylum, and only three positive decisions were made. 228.