ZAGREB, June 11, 2019 - Children's ombudswoman Helenca Pirnat Dragičević called for providing support to children whose parents are behind the bars, and this appeal was issued on Tuesday on the occasion of the European campaign called "Not My Crime - Still My Sentence."

The campaign is aimed at improving living conditions and status of children of incarcerated parents.

The Croatian office says that since 2006 it has been engaged in the protection of the rights of this vulnerable category of children, and notes some progress in their status in the country. Approximately one-third of incarcerated people in Croatia are parents of underage children.

On 31 December 2018, of the 2,211 persons behind the bars in Croatia, 743 were parents of a total of 1,325 underage children. Throughout that year, about 12,500 children were separated from their imprisoned parent.

"An estimated 2.1 million children are separated from a parent in prison in Council of Europe countries on any given day; 800,000 children in the EU-28. In addition to having to cope with separation from their parent, these children are vulnerable to stigma, instability, poverty and violence. Although overall progress on the issue of parental imprisonment has been made in Europe, thanks partially to EU support for advocacy on their behalf, some countries still have little awareness of this, levels of service provision vary greatly and policy is lagging," says COPE, the only pan-European network for children with imprisoned parents.

"Founded in 2000, Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) is a pan-European network working with and on behalf of children with imprisoned parents. The network encourages innovative perspectives and practice to ensure that the rights of children with imprisoned parents are fully respected and that action is taken to secure their well-being and healthy development. COPE is a membership-based organisation made up of non-governmental organisations, individuals and other stakeholders across Europe and beyond, linked by a staff team based at its Paris headquarters."

More children news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, February 20, 2019 - Human rights ombudswoman Lora Vidović said on Wednesday that one in five Croatian citizens lived at risk of poverty, especially in rural areas, that welfare was not enough to meet the basic needs, and that pensioners were especially at risk.

Croatia still has no strategy on welfare housing or homelessness, or solutions for sustainable food banks, which are some of the recommendations for eliminating the problems citizens are faced with, Vidovic said in a press release on the occasion of World Day of Social Justice, observed today.

One in four persons over 65, i.e. nearly half the persons in single person households, is at risk of poverty. Last December, nearly 250,000 pensioners, i.e. over one in five, received monthly pensions below 1,600 kuna.

Vidovic said that despite the drop in unemployment, finding a job did not mean coming out of poverty because it was easier to lose than find a job, notably for the elderly, who are often laid off with the excuse of redundancies. Another problem are fixed-term contracts, she added.

Low income citizens are the most exposed to income discrimination, which prevents them from participating in the public and social life and increases the risk of social exclusion, said Vidović.

The key to social justice lies in job creation and better access to work for those with no income, she said, adding that a minimum wage should guarantee a dignified and better life for the most at-risk citizens.

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

ZAGREB, February 16, 2018 - The Office of the Ombudswoman stated on Friday that information regarding the police treatment of a nine-year-old unaccompanied migrant "is an example of disregard for rules" and that any further communication on that topic will be conducted exclusively with the Interior Ministry and other relevant agencies.

An ombudswoman for Split.