Human development

Respect for the rule of law
In spite of the legal reforms undertaken by the government, respect for the rule of law principle remains a major area of concern. Poor level of implementation and failure to comply with judicial decisions has to be underlined, especially in politically sensitive areas. In this regard, however, a more collaborative trend has been clearly visible in relation to war crimes.
Nationalist obstructionism towards cooperation with the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) appears largely overcome even though, from time to time, opposition�s demands for interrupting cooperation resurface. Progress was also made on national responsibility efforts. The domestic judiciary is in fact starting credible investigations � that have so far led to a number of �eminent� indictments � on individuals allegedly responsible for committing or ordering various crimes against prisoners and civilian population in war times.

Major efforts are also being paid in the attempt to tackle the issue of corruption still affecting to a certain extent the public administration. There has been a positively increasing awareness on the necessity of involving civil society groups in the realisation of a draft legal reform to solve some of the main problems inherited from previous administrations (such as conflict of interest, public administration/judiciary reform, access to information).

Human rights
Croatia has made substantial improvements in its human rights record. The factual commitment to align its legislation to international standards is testified by the signing of nine of the twelve main international human rights conventions of the United Nations.

Since 1996 the Croatian government has set up a new institution to evaluate the human rights situation in the country: the Ombudsman. However, the Government has so far taken scarcely into consideration the recommendations issued by the Ombudsman � mainly concerning cases of neglected respect of property legislation in the refugees� return process. Therefore, a more collaborative attitude on the Government�s side could be advisable.

Continued human rights violations contributed to hamper the return of refugees. Official condemnation of ethnically motivated attacks against the Serb population in many instances was not followed by firm judicial response. A discriminatory and confusing legislation ruling on the property repossession process was actually at the core of the problem. Yet even when their rights to regain their property or to enjoy reconstruction assistance were recognised by local authorities, Croatian Serbs were often physically impeded to proceed to repossession: officials often refused to implement judicial decisions especially in relation to evictions of ethnic Croats from Croatian Serb property.

Adoption of a new Constitutional Law on Minorities � as recommended by the Council of Europe�s Venice Commission - has been further delayed; in the meantime the transitional legislation that had been passed in 2000 (for an original 6 months application) to settle the most urgent demands is still in force. Approval of a new legislation could ease the reintegration process of minority returnees.

Freedom of association and civil society
Croatia is nowadays known in Southeast Europe for its large and vibrant civil society: the official number of registered groups is in fact somewhere around 16,000. Compared to its size, though, the NGO sector has so far played a limited role in political and social terms. Concentration in areas such as sport and culture, plurality of objectives (and, consequently, scarce specialisation) and low membership levels are among the causes of the reduced public impact of many Croatian NGOs. A solution to the present impasse can result from the recent legislative transformation aimed at establishing a more favourable and tolerant environment.

At beginning of 2002, in fact, a new legislation on freedom of association entered into force. The new law eliminates many of the obstacles to the creation of civil society groups and widens the range of possible purposes for which NGOs can be set up. The law ultimately provides for tax incentives for charitable contributions to NGOs.

Useful links:

REC (Regional Environmental centre for Central and Eastern Europe) on Croatia NGO assessment for 2003: Click here

Minority Rights Group International � (MRG) report - Minorities in Croatia:
click here

HUMAN RIGHTS NEWS
Croatia: Progress Needed on Refugee Returns: click here

HUMAN RIGHTS NEWS
Croatia: Ruling Hinders Refugee Returns
click here