A/HRC/40/64/Add.1 measures to break down the barriers of prejudice and intolerance and be more inclusive of the Roma in various fields of daily life. Noticeable progress has been made in areas like education, but significant obstacles of prejudice and discrimination persist in many areas of daily life of the Roma, such as employment, access to public services, and even drinking water and sanitation. Improvements such as the proposed Roma Community Act has still not been adopted, and discrepancies between the situation on the ground and official policy are all too frequent. Often, the actual implementation of measures or legislation for members of the Roma community does not live up to expectations. 14. The third level of minority rights could be described as encompassing “other minorities”, including members of the deaf linguistic minority. Ethnic minorities of the former Yugoslavia – Albanian, Bosniak, Croat, Kosovar, Macedonian, Montenegrin and Serb communities – and religious minorities, such as Muslims and Jews, and some small but long-established ethnic communities, such as the German-speaking ethnic group (including the Kočevje Germans, known as Gottscheer), find themselves in this category, although in the case of members of the deaf community and those of the former Yugoslavia, a few additional legislative measures or programmes are in place. The country’s three largest minorities in demographic terms – Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs – are all at this last level of recognition and protection. 15. Freedom of religion and the legal status of religious minorities are regulated by articles 7 and 41 of the Constitution and by the Religious Freedom Act. There are 54 churches and other religious communities registered in the national register. V. Positive developments and good practices 16. Slovenia has frequently and rightfully been known for its long-standing examples of good practices, especially with regard to the rights enjoyed by the Hungarian and Italian minorities. The degree of recognition and implementation of the rights of the Roma has also made noticeable progress in some areas, but still has a long way to go before it complies fully with relevant international standards, such as the prohibition of discrimination. Members of the deaf community for their part can be said to have had for a period of time a good level of acknowledgment and response to their linguistic rights, and Slovenia can be proud in many of its achievements in regard to this minority. How to respond to migrants and other minorities, particularly those of the former Yugoslavia and despite some incremental positive developments, has overall been more of a challenge for Slovenian authorities, and one that will require further steps to improve the human rights of these individuals and communities. 17. Institutionally, notable changes have been made in the general human rights protection regime in Slovenia in recent years. The rights of minorities, such as those contained in the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, are human rights; and since minorities tend to be among the most vulnerable and marginalized segments of society, the Government of Slovenia is to be commended for the strengthening of its mechanisms for the protection and recognition of human rights that will have an impact on minorities. 18. One noticeable development is the Protection from Discrimination Act (2016), which resulted in the Advocate of the Principle of Equality becoming an independent State body. The mandate of the new Advocate includes independent research on the situation in the field of discrimination, the publication of reports and the making of recommendations and proposals on the adoption of special measures to prevent discrimination and provide legal assistance. The mandate also has investigative and decisional powers ordering the end of discriminatory practices, though no direct punitive powers. The new Advocate of the Principle of Equality took up his position in October 2016. 19. Another significant and welcome development were the amendments to the Human Rights Ombudsman Act made in late 2017, which set out a new legal basis for the Office of the Ombudsman to apply for A status under the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles). The 5