Slovenes Reject Government Bill to Re-establish Residency of

29 July 2004

According to Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) of April 5, 2004, in a referendum on April 4, Slovene citizens voted against a bill sponsored by the Slovene government to restore residency rights to individuals (predominantly ethnic minorities) "erased" when Slovenia seceded from the Former Yugoslavia in 1992. According to ERRC research, many Roma, including some born in Slovenia and many who had lived there for years before succession, were left with-out any legal residence in the country after the erasure. Ninety-four percent of voters voted against the government bill to restore the legal residency status of affected persons. The negative result of the referendum affects approximately 18,000 non-Slovenes who, in 1992, were erased from the registry rolls. Earlier, on January 26, Slovenia's Constitutional Court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to decide on whether to restore the legal status of "erased persons".

(ERRC, RFE/RL)