Our society should pay more attention to poverty, which is on the rise, President Danilo Tuerk said on Tuesday in his video message at a panel on "Poverty and Human Rights", organised by the National Council, the upper chamber of parliament, and Human Rights Ombudsman Zdenka Cebasek Travnik on Tuesday.
More and more Slovenians are affected by lower income, which leads to the feeling of exclusion. This is cause for concern and the question is what can we do to reduce poverty, Tuerk pointed out.
Fortunately, our social development has reached a level where poverty is not an insoluble problem, he added.
The president welcomed the panel: "I wish the results of the panel would help in drafting a policy to reduce and, if possible, eradicate poverty".
Marjeta Cotman, the Labour, Family and Social Affairs Minister, pointed out that Slovenia, like other European countries, has been developing various welfare systems in the past decade. However, to ensure dignity for all of its citizens the country needs concrete policies and mutual cooperation on all levels of society.
Human Rights Ombudsman Zdenka Cebasek Travnik said her office had been dealing with poverty since the beginning of Cebasek Travnik's term in office. The question is, how to define poverty within a social context, when the facts do not correspond with the real picture, she added.
In order to reduce poverty, political changes are necessary, and politicians are becoming increasingly aware of that, but they have still taken no concrete measures, she pointed out.
About 16% of EU citizens live on the verge of poverty, which is 78 million people. In Slovenia, over 200,000 people live under the poverty line, she said.
According to National Council President Blaz Kavcic, the poverty rate in Slovenia would be twice as high, should the government not help certain population groups with social transfers. The key to solve the problem of poverty lies in people's self-awareness, Kavcic said.
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