In the framework of the 48th session of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on the occasion of the UPR for Slovenia, Pax Christi International organised an information session (side event):

“The importance of an appropriate care for the dead from a human rights perspective – experiences from Slovenia”

On Monday, 27 January 2025, 12:30 – 2.00 pm
In room XXII, Palais des Nations, Geneva

The event was organised with the collaboration of the Commission for Justice and Peace of the Slovenian Bishops’ Conference and the German Commission for Justice and Peace.

Members of the “Partnership in Truth for Peace and Reconciliation” of Slovenia, who spoke at the event, issued this statement.

During the event, speakers presented recommendations on how Slovenia can better fulfil its obligations under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICERD) and explain why appropriate care for the dead is essential for the protection of human rights.

The recording is available on our YouTube channel here.
Due to technical issues, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Katarina Lia Kompan Erzar could not deliver her presentation during the event. Her part is available here.

Presentations:

• Dr. Bernd Hirschberger, German Commission for Justice and Peace – The importance of appropriate care for the dead from a human rights perspective (Presentation available here)
• Asist. Tilen Vesenjak, Justice and Peace Slovenia – The mass graves in Slovenia – dimensions of the deficits with regard to the appropriate treatment of the dead
• Prof. Dr. Janez Juhant, Association United on Lipa Reconciliation – The necessity of burial of victims for reconciliation in Slovenia
• Peter Sušnik, Nova Slovenska zaveza – Current challenges, possible solutions and recommendations: Experiences from Macesnova Gorica
• Assoc. Prof. Dr. Katarina Lia Kompan Erzar, University of Ljubljana – Unresolved losses, complicated grief and the meaning of respectful burial in building a healthy society (Presentation available here)

The event was covered by some Slovenian media:

• In Geneva, the views of Slovenian relatives of the victims killed in the revolution and the war were presented | Nova24TV
• Statement on the treatment of the victims of the communist revolution at the UN | Democracija

For further information on the topic, the publication How society cares for the dead – a matter of human dignity! of the  German Commission for Justice and Peace is available in English, Spanish and German here.