The Scars of the Erasure_web

Erasure_4a 10.1.11 20:29 Page 8484 THE SCARS OF THE ERASURErights were violated. Moreover, the sheer number of people (25,671) 1 who sufferedas a consequence of the violation of their rights calls for recognition thatthe erasure was not simply a violation of human rights but a mass violation ofhuman rights. A look into the past shows that since 1991, the year in whichSlovenia gained independence, it would be difficult to find any other violationcomparable to this one in number, scope, or gravity. Accordingly, the erasure canbe described as the largest mass violation of human rights in the history of independentSlovenia.2. Legal foundations for the protection of human rightsThe analysis of the erasure and its consequences shows that it intrudedinto both the first and the second generation of human rights. Human rights ofthe first generation are by their nature civil and political rights, while humanrights of the second generation comprise economic, social and cultural rights.Both groups of rights are protected by the three key international documentsadopted within the framework of the UN: the Universal Declaration of HumanRights (UDHR), 2 which comprises both groups of rights, the InternationalCovenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 3 which comprises the first gene -ration of human rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social andCultural Rights (ICESCR), 4 which is concerned with the rights of the second gene -ration. The three documents constitute the Bill of Rights. In addition to the UNdocuments, an important reference in determining the violation of rights in theCouncil of Europe member states, including Slovenia, is the European Conventionon the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, 5 which protectsprimarily civil and political rights as well as certain specific economic, socialand cultural rights. The third generation of human rights is not yet protected bybinding international documents, but is contained in non-binding declarationsor collections of principles. These encompass collective rights, the right to selfdetermination,to economic and social development, to a healthy living environment,natural resources and cultural heritage, as well as the right tocommunicate and communication rights, and the right to intergenerationalequity and sustainable development. Since Slovenia is not formally bound to respectthe third generation of human rights (apart from those mentioned in itsConstitution, for example the right to a healthy living environment, or in otherspecific international documents), these rights will not be examined in detail inthis text. The three generations of human rights follow on from the slogan of the1 This number is taken from an internal survey of databases conducted in January 2009 by the Ministry of the Interior.2 G.A. res. 217A (III), U.N. Doc A/810 at 71 (1948).3 GA res. 2200A (XXI), 21 UN GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, UN Doc. A/6316 (1966); 999 UNTS 171; 6 ILM 368 (1967).4 G.A. res. 2200A (XXI), 21 U.N.GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 49, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 993 U.N.T.S. 3 (1976).5 The ECHR entered into force on 3 September 1953; it was amended and supplemented by Protocol 11, the additionalProtocol and Protocols 4, 6, 7, 12 in 13.