ZAGREB, December 21, 2018 - The Initiative for RECOM and the non-governmental organisation Documenta - the Centre for Dealing with the Past on Friday presented an interactive map of war victims in former Yugoslavia, from Croatia's 1991-1995 Homeland War to the 2001 armed conflict in Macedonia.

The acronym RECOM stands for the Regional Commission Tasked with Establishing the Facts about All Victims of War Crimes and Other Serious Human Rights Violations Committed on the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia from 1 January 1991 to 31 December 2001.

Long-lasting research and documenting of human losses is a result of efforts and cooperation between regional documentation centres - Documenta from Zagreb, the Humanitarian Law Centre from Belgrade, the Humanitarian Law Centre from Pristina, and the Sarajevo-based association Transitional Justice, Responsibility and Memory.

The map contains the victims' names and characteristics because we believe that it is important for people to remember people, Documenta head Vesna Teršelić said, adding that the initiative was designed to contribute to reducing and stopping the manipulation of victims.

The human rights associations working on the research as well as the organisations involved in the RECOM coalition established that around 130,000 people had been killed or had gone missing in all the former Yugoslav wars but not all names have been entered in the map because the research is ongoing.

In Croatia, 17,007 war victims have been recorded, and the map contains the names of slightly more than 4,000 victims because only victims verified by several sources are entered in the register.

Nataša Kandić, the founder of Belgrade's Humanitarian Law Centre, said that they expected Croatia to be among the countries that would compile the first regional list of war victims in former Yugoslavia and to join, as a member of the European Union, in the European Commission's open support to the RECOM initiative.

Nives Jozić, human loss research coordinator at Documenta, said that while researching human losses in Croatia since 2009 they had interviewed more than 2,900 members of victims' families, acquaintances and witnesses and gathered more than 27,000 documents, registering 17,007 victims.

Documenta's map also contains data collected by the Humanitarian Law Centre on the human loss of Serbian and Montenegrin nationals, namely the names of 2,200 members of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and the army and police forces of Serbia killed in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Information for Kosovo shows that from early 1998 to late 2000, 13,549 people went missing or were killed there.

The project was presented in the context of a campaign to establish a regional commission to determine facts about the victims, perpetrators and war events.

The need for such a commission is greater than ever because a year after the completion of the work of the Hague war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which documented more than 18,000 victims during its work, we can see how important it is, aside from administering justice, to make an additional step towards establishing facts about war victims in former Yugoslavia and building trust, Teršelić said, warning that regional cooperation in that regard is growing weaker and weaker.

More news on the activities of NGOs can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 18, 2018 - The Peace Studies Centre (CMS) on Tuesday filed with the prosecutorial authorities (DORH) a criminal report accusing unidentified police officers of behaving unlawfully towards migrants at Croatia's border with Bosnia. The police have allegedly conducted unlawful migrant expulsions.

The criminal report, lodged with DORH on International Migrants Day observed on 18 December, was prompted by a video footage released by the international organisation Border Violence Monitoring purportedly corroborating the suspicion that Croatian police systematically expel groups of migrants on the external border of the European Union back to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Croatian Ministry of the Interior dismissed the claim, insisting that border police were applying the principle of deterrence.

The CMS and the Welcome initiative insist that DORH should conduct an effective investigation that will result in the penalisation of the perpetrators.

They also insist that Interior Minister Davor Božinović, the national chief of police, Nikola Milina, and the head of the border police, Zoran Ničeno, should resign, claiming that they failed to ensure the conduct of the police in compliance with law.

Activist Sara Kekuš told a news conference Tuesday that numerous testimonies of refugees and warnings made over two years about the unlawful police behaviour, as well as the latest footage were sufficient to corroborate the claims that it was necessary to launch an investigation.

Kekuš said that it was of utmost importance that the police cease behaving unlawfully and violently at the border.

Police chief Milina on Sunday dismissed accusations against Croatian police over their treatment of migrants, saying that no cases of beating have been found. "Police guard the state border in accordance with the law and their professional standards. We have checked all recent reports of illegalities and have found no cases of beating," Milina told public broadcaster HRT in a prime-time news programme on Sunday evening.

More news on Croatia’s policies towards migrants can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 10, 2018 - NGOs promoting human rights on Monday warned of the deterioration of human rights in Croatia, saying ethnic and other minorities rights are increasingly in danger, as are women's rights as well as the rights of the majority which, due to poor social and economic conditions, cannot have a dignified life.

Speaking at a press conference, Ivan Novosel of the Human Rights House Zagreb underlined the importance of observing the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He said the stagnation of the development of the human rights in Croatia was evident since the country joined the EU in 2013.

"For several years now, Croatia hasn't had a key public human rights policy, a national human rights protection and promotion policy or a gender equality strategy. Especially worrying is the low level of knowledge about human rights because there's no systematic civic education," said Novosel.

Speaking of migrants, he said increasing hate speech contributed to the spreading of fake news. He said some politicians were using this to score points in the year before elections for the European Parliament and Croatia's presidential vote.

Ana Vračar of the BRID NGO said austerity measures were mostly reflected in social protection budget cuts and that this was often an obstacle to healthcare and dignified living. She said there was a trend of relying on uncertain jobs, that the pension reform would bring many to the risk of poverty and that healthcare was constantly under strong privatisation pressure. "All of that seriously undermines the majority's quality of living."

Svjetlana Knežević of the B.a.B.e. NGO said the human rights of the majority were increasingly threatened, not just those of minorities. She added that women must again fight for their rights, saying they were discriminated against at work, in politics, the economy, education, culture and as well as the family life.

Recent years saw "fierce attacks" on women's reproductive and sexual rights as well as conservative groups' resistance to the Istanbul Convention, she said, adding that women in the European Union earn 16.2% less than men, whereas in Croatia the pay gap is 11.3%, while the pension gap is over 20%.

Sara Lalić of the Centre for Peace Studies said refugees on the EU's and Croatia's borders were being illegally driven away on a daily basis, denied the basic human right to seek protection. She voiced concern about the low level of rights of the Serb and Roma ethnic minorities as well as the LGBT community, saying the state was not doing enough to protect the rights of children and persons with disabilities.

Željka Leljak Gracin of Green Action underlined the problem of climate change, saying the loss of natural resources was mostly felt by the poorer part of the population.

More news on the human rights in Croatia can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 8, 2018 - The civil society association called "Rainbow Families", which brings together LGBT activists, will ask the Constitutional Court to assess if the new foster care law was in line with the Constitution, saying that the law was discriminatory against an entire population group, as it did not enable same-sex couples to be eligible to provide foster carer to children without adequate parental care.

The foster care law that has caused disputes in the ruling coalition was voted in on Friday, with 72 members of parliament voting in favour, four against and six abstaining.

MPs of the Croatian People's Party (HNS), a partner in the ruling coalition, who made their support for the bill conditional on the adoption of an amendment giving same-sex couples the right to provide foster care, abstained from the vote. Independent MPs Tomislav Saucha and Mario Habek abstained as well.

The opposition did not take part in the vote in a show of protest against the way the ruling majority functions.

MPs Dragana Jeckov and Boris Milošević of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) voted against the bill, as did Italian minority and independent MP Furio Radin, and Mirando Mrsić of the Democrats party.

Prejudices, political calculations and intolerance have prevailed, despite the appeal of over 200 Croatian scientists and experts, the NGO said in a press release, expressing hope the law would change as soon as possible.

For more on the LGBT rights in Croatia, click here.

ZAGREB, December 7, 2018 - Human Rights House Zagreb has published a report on the obstacles and challenges faced by human rights advocates and organisations in Croatia which deal with the past, transitional justice, human rights, refugee rights, ethnic minorities, the LGBTIQ community, and environmental protection.

The report says decision makers often fail to publicly support the work of human rights defenders, who are discredited, verbally threatened and intimidated, including with destruction of equipment and work premises.

"There is no public condemnation of threats against and intimidation of human rights defenders, whereby one fails to clearly send the message that violence is unacceptable," Human Rights House Zagreb said in a press release on Friday.

It notes that attempts are made through a broad interpretation of the law to criminalise the work of human rights defenders who deal with refugee rights, and that they are linked to people traffickers and criminal activities without foundation.

When they accompany asylum seekers to police stations, activists are interrogated and held there for hours without explanation or justification, said the press release. "Accusations of criminal activities are presented in the media tendentiously, undermining human rights defenders' reputations and discouraging future volunteers. Those who deal with environmental preservation face pressures and lawsuits from private investors because they attempt to protect the public interest."

The report says human rights defenders' communication with the public authorities is obstructed and that they are concerned about the deteriorating cooperation between defenders of refugee rights and the relevant authorities.

The report says the adoption of restrictive local regulations and commercial use of public space have a negative effect on the freedom of assembly. "Counter-protests have an indirect negative impact on the exercise of the right to free and peaceful public assembly of the defenders of the Serb national minority's human rights."

Human Rights House Zagreb also said that press freedoms were restricted and that fake news and hate speech had a negative impact on freedom of expression. It said human rights violations were not adequately covered and that independent media, which have a key role in the protection and promotion of human rights, found it increasingly difficult to survive due to lack of sustainable public funding.

"In 2018, aside from the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we are also observing the 20th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders which defined in one place for the first time the minimum standards which states must honour to ensure undisturbed and progressive work on the protection and promotion of human rights," said the press release.

For more on the human rights in Croatia, click here.

ZAGREB, December 5, 2018 - The GONG nongovernmental organisation on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Andrej Plenković of "dangerously downplaying" the Conflict of Interest Commission's decision on Finance Minister Zdravko Marić and former Economy Minister Martina Dalić regarding the case of dealing with the crisis surrounding the ailing private Agrokor group.

The Commission decided on Monday that Dalić and Marić had violated the principle of holding public office in the case of the indebted Agrokor food and retail conglomerate. The violation does not carry any penalties.

On Tuesday, Plenković stressed that the Commission did not examine "the concept of conflict of interest" and that it did not find that either Marić or former economy minister Martina Dalić had been in a conflict of interest. “It's very important that this message be understood clearly, based on what and about what exactly the Commission was deciding. The Commission examined solely... the principles of holding office," he told reporters when asked if Marić should resign, as demanded by the opposition.

Plenković's statement prompted the GONG association to accuse the prime minister of showing contempt towards the Commission. It also recalled that Plenković's predecessor as HDZ president Tomislav Karamarko had to step down from the government after the Commission had established that he had been in a conflict of interest when he had advocated Croatia's withdrawal from an arbitration procedure with Hungary's MOL over the leading Croatian oil and gas company INA.

The NGO insisted that the process of the adoption of Lex Agrokor was deeply compromised and that therefore Plenković should be held to account before the Commission.

Finance Minister Marić said on Tuesday he would take legal steps to contest the Conflict of Interest Commission decision under which he violated the principle of holding public office in the Agrokor case.

The leaders of the parliamentary opposition parties GLAS, HSS, IDS and HSS on Tuesday held a news conference at which they said that Marić "must go" following Monday's decision by the Conflict of Interest Commission.

Commenting on the Commission's decision, the leader of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), Krešo Beljak, also noted that: "The name of this body is the Conflict of Interest Commission and there was no mention of conflict of interest in its decision. ... If Marić and Dalić were in a conflict of interest, the Commission should have said so, because that would have political consequences such as resignation and the involvement of the State Attorney's Office in this whole affair. The problem is that state institutions are not independent and that's why we have such a lukewarm decision."

The leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Davor Bernardić, said that "this government is a conflict of interest."

For more on the conflict of interest issues in Croatia, click here.

ZAGREB, November 20, 2018 - The civil society association called "Rainbow Families", which brings together LGBTIQ activists, called on Tuesday on members of the Croatian parliament to amend the final foster care bill so as to enable same-sex couples to be eligible to provide LGBT foster parenting to children without adequate parental care.

Such definition of foster carers will put Croatia in the group of developed European countries such as Germany, Spain or Ireland that treat equally all its citizens regardless of their sexual orientation, the NGO said.

On 31 October, the government sent to parliament a final bill on foster parenting, and the wording of the proposed legislation prompted the NGO to ask for enabling partners in civil partnership concluded under the life partnership legislation, to be foster carers.

The NGO says that "long-standing and extensive research has proved that there is no difference in the development of children brought up by heterosexual or same-sex couples, and therefore there are no scientific grounds to restrict same-sex couples' right to access to professional evaluation if they are fit to foster children."

The NGO finds it humiliating that the legislation enables individuals to have access to the procedure in which they can be declared fit to be foster carers, however, partners from civil partnerships seem not welcome.

The NGO says that on 6 July, the parliament refused to endorse a conclusion which would have called on the government to prepare a solution whereby partners in civil partnerships would not be discriminated against when submitting requests for foster parenting.

The NGO also points out statistical figures indicating that foster carers in Croatia are older and older.

It once again underscores that figures from the USA show that same-sex couples in that country foster children six times more than heterosexual couples, and thus present an important resource in the USA for providing care for children without appropriate care from their parents.

For more on LGBT issues in Croatia, click here.

ZAGREB, November 13, 2018 - The Ministry of the Interior on Monday rejected the accusations by the Centre for Peace Studies (CMS) that the Ministry denied its volunteers access to the reception centre for asylum seekers in Zagreb.

The ministry dismissed as "completely untrue and unacceptable" the claim by the CMS that the ministry's refusal to renew the agreement on cooperation in providing support to seekers of international protection accommodated in the reception centre for asylum seekers is a political decision aimed at intimidating, marginalising and distancing an organisation that has drawn public attention to the unlawful treatment of refugees by police.

Given that the Centre for Peace Studies does not have a valid cooperation agreement with the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry cannot grant CMS volunteers entry to the reception centre for asylum seekers, the Ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry currently has cooperation agreements in place with the Jesuit Refugee Service, the Croatian Law Centre, Croatian Baptist Aid, the Baptist Church of Zagreb, and Are You Syrious.

Considering the reports submitted by the CMS about its activities, which included teaching Croatian and conversations with seekers of international protection, as part of which CMS volunteers informed them about the asylum system and integration, and having examined the valid agreements which the Ministry has in place with other non-governmental organisations and ongoing projects, it has been concluded that the CMS offers the same or similar activities that are already being conducted by the other organisations operating at the reception centre, the statement said.

The Ministry noted that assistance to asylum seekers was also secured through projects led by the Croatian Red Cross and the Belgian organisation Medecins du Monde.

The Centre for Peace Studies free to conduct its activities on its own premises

The Ministry said it was in no way trying to prevent the CMS from providing support to seekers of international protection and persons who have been granted protection, adding that the organisation was free to conduct its activities on its own premises.

Seekers of international protection are entitled to free public transport and their access to the CMS or contact with any other non-governmental organisation is in no way limited, the Ministry said.

The Ministry said it had never considered the CMS an undesirable partner, but added that insistence on the claim that the Ministry was responsible for the death of Afghan migrant girl Madina, despite the fact that a criminal complaint against unidentified border police officers was dismissed in June, was unacceptable.

In conclusion, the Ministry noted that this year alone it had received 998 claims for international protection and granted 226.

For more on Croatia’s NGOs, click here.

ZAGREB, November 12, 2018 - The Centre for Peace Studies (CMS) said on Monday that as of September the Interior Ministry was preventing it from entering the reception centres for asylum seekers in Zagreb and Kutina, refusing to extend a cooperation agreement with CMS, which has been working in such centres for 15 years and pointing to the ministry's unlawful conduct.

The ministry's explanation is that there is no space for CMS activities and that enough organisations are active in the reception centres, representatives of CMS and the Human Rights House told reporters.

CMS said other organisations were not available to all refugees, notably those in the Kutina centre. This is a "political decision aimed at intimidating, marginalising and distancing organisations which are publicly speaking about problems faced by refugees and the unlawful treatment of refugees by Interior Ministry staff," said Julija Kranjec of CMS.

"A few months ago, the ministry asked in court that the Are You Syrious? organisation be banned and now it's trying to obstruct the work of CMS and organisations which are warning about human rights violations," said Ivan Novosel of the Human Rights House.

CMS and Are You Syrious? are pushing for prosecuting those responsible in last year's death of Afghan migrant girl Madine Hosseini, whose case is currently before the European Court of Human Rights, said Kranjec.

CMS has been supporting refugees for 15 years, facilitating the integration of people in the reception centres and thus far over 1,000 asylum seekers have participated in CMS activities.

Its representatives said CMS was participating in the Interior Ministry's Integration Action Plan and its implementation was now in question.

The plan's education measures are necessary to build a better society and prevent hysteria and fact manipulation against migrants, said Kranjec.

Croatia, the Interior Ministry and the police have the duty to respect the rights of human rights organisations and defenders, added Novosel.

CMS demands that the ministry extend the agreement allowing them access to the reception centres.

For more on migrant crisis, click here.

ZAGREB, October 23, 2018 - Platform 112, a civil society group that brings together dozens of human rights organisations, on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Interior Minister Davor Božinović to see to it that "intensive attacks" by law enforcement authorities against human rights organisations ceased.