Overview 113th Session – Croatia
Review of Croatia at Palais Wilson – Geneva
The fourth periodic report on the implementation of the ICCPR in Croatia was reviewed by the Human Rights Committee on the 23th and 24th of March 2015.
During the review of the third periodic report of Croatia, the Committee noted the progress made by Croatia in a number of fields, especially in gender equality. For instance, the lists of candidates in State elections must have a minimum of 40% of either gender. However, domestic violence is still an important problem. According to reports, in cases of domestic violence, women were arrested in nearly 43% of cases, even though the man was the perpetrator in 95% of cases. As a result, the Committee asked the delegation what kind of support was available for victims of sexual and domestic violence, in particular for unmarried women.
Another important concern highlighted by the experts was the lack of participation of minorities, including Roma and Serbs, in the political life and at all levels of decisions making in Croatia. The experts noticed positive developments in the legal framework to prevent discrimination and inequality, such as provisions for minority rights and the establishment of the Office of Ombudsperson. Nevertheless, Croatian Serbs continue to face problems in the fields of the public sector, employment and restitution of tenancy rights. Furthermore, the segregation of Roma children in schools is also an issue that is still very present in the country, particularly in primary schools.
The right to freedom of expression, association, and demonstration were also discussed during the session due to the treatment that some journalists have received for investigating cases of corruption. The experts highlighted the need to amend the defamation provisions in the Criminal Code to ensure greater freedom of expression.
The Human Rights Committee also raised the following concerns: overcrowding in prisons (in some Croatian prisons the occupancy rate was higher than 150%), enforced disappearances, justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity, cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and human trafficking.
The Concluding Observations for which the State should provide information on the implementation within one year, concern:
For a comprehensive overview of the discussion, see the proceedings on the OHCHR website or the webcast of the session.
The next periodic report should be submitted by the State party on the 2nd of April 2020.
