REPUBLIC OF CROATIA THE OMBUDSMAN REPORT ON THE WORK ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR OF 2003 Zagreb, March 2004 1 SECTION ONE INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 1. The report on the work activities of the Ombudsman is a regular annual report that is submitted to the Croatian Parliament by the Ombudsman for the previous year. This is the seventh report that the Ombudsman, Mr. Ante Klarić, has submitted during his term in office. Each year in the governing bodies and at the plenary session of the Croatian Parliament there was an extensive discussion – not only regarding the Ombudsman’s annual report itself, but also regarding the evaluations he presented and general issues of promotion and protection of human rights in the Republic of Croatia. In lieu of the Report on the work activities for the year of 2003, the Croatian Parliament held an extensive discussion, after which by the majority of votes (74 in favor, 1 against and 2 abstaining) a conclusion was reached by which the Report on the work activities of the Ombudsman for the year of 2002 was taken note of. In accordance with the proposal of the Committee for Family, Youth and Sports, the following conclusions were reached (by the majority of votes; 48 in favor, 8 against and 26 abstaining): (1) The Government of the Republic of Croatia commits itself to - as soon as possible - review and improve the life conditions within departments of institutions for minors at which the freedom of movement in the Republic of Croatia is limited. (2) Within an appropriate amount of time it is necessary to ensure additional funding in order to enable efficient functioning of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Croatia. (3) The Government of the Republic of Croatia commits itself to make a statement regarding the proposal of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Croatia for the recognition of reimbursement rights to children of former political prisoners for those days that their parents spent in prison or jail. Compliant to the proposal of the HDZ Club of Representatives, by the majority of votes (73 in favor, 1 against and 3 abstaining), also reached was the conclusion according to which the Government of the Republic of Croatia commits itself to proposing additional funding within the Government budget for the year of 2004 towards the activities of the Ombudsman Office. 2 2. With regards to the problems that the Ombudsman has encountered during work for several years now, in April 2003 the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for European Security and Cooperation (ODIHR/OESS) and the OESS Mission to Croatia have engaged professor John Hucker, an independent professional, to prepare an analysis of the current legal and political circumstances that surround the institution of the Ombudsman in Croatia. The purpose of this analysis is to identify legal, financial or logistic limitations that affect the work of the Ombudsman, as well as the proposal of measures that are to be taken in order to reinforce the position of the institution. In the mentioned analysis, which is enclosed with this report in its entirety, the following was recommended: 1) The Government should review the current budget of the Ombudsman Office with the goal of increasing the funding to a higher level. This revision should be performed by an independent auditor, or in cooperation with one. The Ombudsman should be continually consulted with during each phase of the revision. The means that are to be allocated should be sufficient for the Ombudsman to establish presence at the largest centers outside of Zagreb and to strengthen analytical capacities. 2) The Ombudsman should secure the existence of strategic and operative plans that would serve as input for the revision of funding that is proposed in point 1 (It is not realistic to expect the Government to allocate a significant amount of new financial means without a clear explanation of the manner in which the means are to be spent). 3) The Government of the Republic of Croatia – with the help of the international community if necessary – should allocate the means for the support of a short-term (3 to 6 months) capacity building program for the Ombudsman Office. In this way attention could be paid to issues such as structure/organization, planning and the application of alternative operative techniques, including field research and mediation. This measure would correspond well with those proposed in points 1 and 2. 4) The Government should secure office accommodation for the Ombudsman, one that better suits the function of an agency that receives complaints and deals with the general public on a daily basis. The location should be selected considering availability of public transportation and should be completely accessible to disabled persons. The necessity of new accommodation is urgent. 3 5) The Government should re-consider the existing Law concerning the Ombudsman with the goal of providing more power to his mandate in protecting human rights. Such a revision should include purposeful consultations with groups that deal with issues of human rights and minorities, as well as with the Ombudsman. Each new regulation should be made by taking into account the Principles of National Institutions for Human Rights from Paris. Concrete amendments in the Law that should be considered include the following: change of the title into Ombudsman for Human Rights (important symbolic change); shorter mandate term, a period of 4 or 5 years along with a possibility of re-election; and a demand that necessary attention be paid to the issue of securing the representation of national minorities during the election of the Ombudsman or the deputy. 6) The proposed Ombudsman for children, as well as any other specialized Ombudsman that would be elected, should act as a part of the existing Ombudsman Office – instead of being a separate parallel organization. 7) The Ombudsman should adopt a more pro-active approach to communication. He should more frequently attend Parliament meetings, hold interviews with the media, write short reports and press releases. 8) The Ombudsman should participate to a greater extent in local and international networks of similar agencies for human rights. The Office has participated in some local meetings, yet it would have more use from an increased possibility of idea and experience exchange with nearby agencies. (It is understood that this may demand additional funds. However, if there is true interest for this activity, sources for funding can oftentimes be found). 9) The Government's Committee for Human Rights should re-examine its function that is similar to that of the Ombudsman, as a response to the complaints it receives, and consider the possibility of forwarding such complaints to the Ombudsman. The least that the two agencies should do is to exchange information in order to make sure there is no overlapping, i.e. dual responsibility. The Government's Committee should also establish a regular plan of meetings with the Ombudsman. These meetings would be valuable for the exchange of information between the two agencies with mandates for dealing with human rights. The Ombudsman could warn the Government's Office of trends or special problems that he encounters with ministries. The Government's Committee should be prepared to provide the Ombudsman with advice regarding Government's planned activities concerning human rights 4 issues and, when appropriate, to ask the Ombudsman for comments or advice. It is believed that such meetings would not compromise the independence of the Ombudsman. 10) The Government's Office for Human Rights should take the necessary steps in order to secure a wider understanding of the precise role and status of county «coordinations» that have recently been founded, from which it is expected that they submit reports concerning the protection of human rights in their region. 11) The Center for Human Rights should continue to receive support. It can play a useful role in helping to promote public understanding and acceptance of human rights principles. The Ombudsman should be invited to join the Management Board of the Center. 3. The report on the work activities of the Ombudsman for the year of 2003 has been drafted in the same way as earlier reports, so that data could be compared. However, this report includes also the report regarding the results of field visits to ten counties that the Ombudsman had visited during 2003 with his associates. The visits to counties, i.e. to particular cities and settlements in ten counties, which included discussions with local and county heads, as well as the reception of those who submitted complaints, was made possible by a generous donation of the Kingdom of Norway and the whole-hearted help of the OESS Mission to Croatia. Field work proved to be very useful –not only because it made it possible for citizens of a lower social-economic status to reach the Ombudsman more easily– but also because it made possible a direct insight into problems that citizens of particular cities and counties in the Republic of Croatia encounter, as well as a direct insight into problems of regional Government bodies and problems of local self- administration units. Unfortunately, due to the lack of space that prevents employment of new employees, last year as well no new state employee was hired. This resulted in somewhat greater arrears in work, due to a significant increase in the scope of work. For this very reason, in this introductory part the Ombudsman reinstates that it is necessary to employ