The challenge that the project addresses is ignorance of Slovenian police for asylum application on the border with Croatia and low awareness of this in the public. The project stems from the Ombudsman's finding that "there is a reasonable suspicion" that the Slovenian police do not accept asylum applications and return people to Croatia. According to official figures, the Slovenian police have readmitted 16,000 people to Croatia in the last two years, although there are numerous reports documenting various forms of physical abuse by the Croatian police. With the project, we will investigate how the procedures at the border take place and what is the situation of people after being returned to Croatia. The results will be presented to organizations and citizens living in municipalities along the southern border. The project addresses the current challenge of respecting the fundamental rights of all people in Slovenia and creates an opportunity for public addressing of key issues of our time.
The project will address this issue with a field research of procedures at the border with visits to places in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The result will be a report and a documentary based on the research and series of public presentation of results to NGOs and the public. The beneficiary of the project is general public of Slovenia, by creating this political pressure the end beneficiary of the project could be individuals at the borders as well. The project will consist of investigating border police practices and exerting public pressure on allegedly illegal actions of police in the form of public events and communication with the media and relevant institutions and organizations.
The partner of the project Delavska Svetovalnica will be involved in the report (analysis of legislature and international law), in communication with the media and the general public, and at negotiations with decision-makers.