Human rights in Croatia
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Human rights in Croatia are defined by the Constitution of Croatia, chapter three, sections 14 through 69. There are numerous non-governmental organizations dealing with the issue in the country, as well as the Croatian Government's Office for Human Rights and several equality bodies, such as The Ombudsperson for Human Rights, Ombudsperson for Gender Equality, Children's Ombudsperson and The Disability Ombudsman.
Since independence
Freedom of Speech
Reporters are often sued by politicians for defamation. Croatia was named a country with one of the most lawsuits filed to silence journalists in the EU.[1] There have also been cases of physical violence against reporters, such as when two reporters documenting an Easter Vigil were attacked by an unknown individual.[2]
Reproductive Rights
Although abortion is legal in Croatia up to 10 weeks after contraception, and has exceptions for women who have been pregnant for more than 10 weeks. However, the country is somewhat split on the issue, with some conservative groups calling for a ban. In one instance, a woman who passed the 10 week deadline was deprived of an abortion by four clinics, even though her fetus had a brain tumor, leading to protests.[1][3]
Migrant Rights
Croatia has been continuously criticized by human rights groups for refusing migrants. Many migrants seeking to get into Croatia are sent back to Bosnia and Herzegovina instead. In some cases, police used violence against migrants. In 2021, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Croatia violated the European Convention on Human Rights while sending a family from Afghanistan to Serbia. In the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 22,000 refugees were granted Temporary Protection Status by Croatia.[1] In December 2023, Croatia was found to have infringed upon the rights of an individual (a stateless man), when they forcibly expelled him from the country without providing any justification for their decision. As a result, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of the victim and ordered Croatia to provide compensation for the violation.[4]
Discrimination Against Roma
Roma have been discriminated against in Croatia, and there have been violent attacks against them. Croatia has been criticized because Roma are discriminated against when getting housing, employment, and healthcare. In a 2013 poll, 44% of Croatians had prejudice against Roma. According to the UN, the Roma population of Croatia is 30,000-40,000, equivalent to roughly 1% of the population.[5]
Historical situation
The following chart shows Croatia’s ratings since 1991 in the Freedom in the World reports, published annually by Freedom House. A rating of 1 is "free"; 7, "not free".[6]1
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See also
- Human trafficking in Croatia
- Internet censorship and surveillance in Croatia
- Political prisoners in Croatia
- Croatia in the European Union
Notes
- 1.^ Note that the "Year" signifies the "Year covered". Therefore the information for the year marked 2008 is from the report published in 2009, and so on.
- 2.^ As of January 1.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "CROATIA 2022". Amnesty International. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ↑ "FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2021 Croatia". Freedom House. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ↑ Reed, Betsy (11 May 2022). "Contentious Croatian abortion goes ahead after medical officials step in". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ↑ "Croatia Violated Rights of Stateless Person, European Court Rules".
- ↑ Milekic, Sven (3 April 2015). "Roma Suffer Racial Discrimination in Croatia, UN Says". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ↑ Freedom House (2022). "Country and Territory Ratings and Statuses, FIW 1973-2022" (XLS). Retrieved 10 March 2022.
External links
- Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights
- Office for Human Rights of the Croatian Government
- Amnesty International USA - Croatia's human rights violations
- Human Rights Watch on Croatia
- 2009 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Croatia, released by the US DoS Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor on March 11, 2010
- Croatia Human Rights Practices, by the US Department of State in 1993
- Report by T. Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, following his visit to Croatia from 6 to 9 April 2010
- Croatia - Commission on Human Rights Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
- Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Croatia, by the US Department of State in 1996
- Censorship in Croatia - IFEX