35th Anniversary of Slovenia's Progress as an Independent Democracy

That the Parliament acknowledges that 27 September 2024 marks 35 years since the Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, a nation of 2.12 million people and 20,271 square kilometres, then a part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, amended its constitution; believes that this was a major step in Slovenia’s transition from a one-party socialist system to a multi-party democratic society; understands that the constitutional amendments guaranteed the right to free and peaceful assembly, prohibited the death penalty and torture, guaranteed freedoms such as movement, judicial process and privacy, ensured freedom of religion and children's rights, granted minority rights to Slovenia’s Italian and Hungarian communities, required Yugoslav federal authorities to respect the Slovene language and, crucially, defined Slovenia as a sovereign state of the Slovene nation, emphasising human rights, democracy, and the rule of law; recognises what it sees as the context in which these changes took place, with increasing demands across Yugoslavia for liberalisation, democratic reforms, and independence; considers that this heralded the beginning of the end of communist rule in Slovenia, with the reassertion of Slovene sovereignty being a precursor to a referendum held on 23 December 1990 where 95.71% of Slovenes, in a turnout of 93.31%, voted for independence, with Slovenia's declaration of independence following on 25 June 1991; is aware that the Yugoslav response was to invade Slovenia leading to the “ten-day war” between Slovenia and the Yugoslav People’s Army, ending in a victory for Slovene forces, the conflict, it understands, being the shortest of the Yugoslav Wars, with the fewest overall casualties; believes that, since independence, Slovenia has gone from strength to strength, is now one of the world’s most peaceful countries, ranks 22nd in the world in terms of the Human Development Index, and that its GDP per capita at purchasing power parity has climbed to 93% of the UK’s from 30% at the time of independence, and sends its best wishes to the people of Slovenia.