UNITED NATIONS CCPR International covenant Distr. on civil and GENERAL political rights CCPR/C/HRV/2 2 December 2008 Original: ENGLISH HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 40 OF THE COVENANT Second periodic report of States parties CROATIA* [28 November 2007] * In accordance with the information transmitted to States parties regarding the processing of their reports, the present document was not edited before being sent to the United Nations translation services. GE.08-45541 (E) 091208 CCPR/C/HRV/2 page 2 CONTENTS Paragraphs Page Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 - 13 4 Article 1 ......................................................................................................... 14 - 24 7 Article 2 ......................................................................................................... 25 - 41 10 Article 3 ......................................................................................................... 42 - 67 13 Article 4 ......................................................................................................... 68 - 70 20 Article 5 ......................................................................................................... 71 - 72 20 Article 6 ......................................................................................................... 73 - 84 21 Article 7 ......................................................................................................... 85 - 120 24 Article 8 ......................................................................................................... 121 - 159 32 Articles 9 and 10 ............................................................................................ 160 - 184 40 Article 11 ....................................................................................................... 185 45 Articles 12 and 13 .......................................................................................... 186 - 202 46 Article 14 ....................................................................................................... 203 - 316 48 Article 15 ....................................................................................................... 317 - 321 71 Article 16 ....................................................................................................... 322 - 327 72 Article 17 ....................................................................................................... 328 - 349 74 Article 18 ....................................................................................................... 350 - 380 84 Article 19 ....................................................................................................... 381 - 423 90 Article 20 ....................................................................................................... 424 - 437 100 Article 21 ....................................................................................................... 438 - 443 105 Article 22 ....................................................................................................... 444 - 484 106 Article 23 ....................................................................................................... 485 - 507 113 CCPR/C/HRV/2 page 3 CONTENTS (continued) Paragraphs Page Article 24 ....................................................................................................... 508 - 579 117 Article 25 ....................................................................................................... 580 - 611 132 Article 26 ....................................................................................................... 612 - 619 137 Article 27 ....................................................................................................... 620 - 658 139 CCPR/C/HRV/2 page 4 Introduction 1. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is an international legal instrument of the United Nations, dating from 1966 (hereinafter: “the Covenant”). The Organisation of United Nations adopted the Optional Protocol in 1976. It thereby recognised the competence of the Human Rights Committee to receive and consider complaints by nationals of state parties to the Covenant, who claimed that they were the victims of a violation of a right protected by the Covenant. The Protocol established the procedure for submitting complaints and was therefore one of the guarantees that the state parties would be more responsible in the realisation of the rights and freedoms from the Covenant. 2. States parties to the Covenant are required, by laws and other measures, to make possible everything necessary for the recognition and realisation of human rights, to provide effective remedy for everyone whose rights and freedoms (established by the Covenant) have been violated. Even in a state of public emergency, no limitations or abolition are permitted of the basic rights of man, which are recognised or exist in a state. 3. The Republic of Croatia is a member of the Covenant on the basis of notification of succession (Official Gazette [hereinafter: “OG”] 12/93 - International Agreements). 4. The Initial Report on the application of the Covenant was submitted by the Republic of Croatia in 1999 to the Human Rights Committee. The Human Rights Committee did not consider the Initial Report until the end of 2002 and on that occasion Concluding Observations by the Committee were delivered. 5. In 2003 the Republic of Croatia sent the Human Rights Committee its observations on individual points of the Concluding Observations on the application of the Covenant. In line with the request by the Human Rights Committee, some recommendations or points of the Concluding Observations were also covered in the Initial Report. These Concluding Observations also set 1 April 2005 as the day for submitting the Second Report on the application of the Covenant. 6. The second report on the application of the Covenant was written according to the methodology which stated that periodic reports must be structured following the articles of the Covenant, and show the way each article is being put into practice. The report covers the period from 2000 to 2006. 7. In the period from the submission of the Initial Report up until the submission of the Second Report, eight years passed. In this period of time, the Republic of Croatia recorded significant progress in the realisation and protection of human rights. The Republic of Croatia strengthened its administrative capacity and created the legislative framework for the realisation and protection of human rights. 8. In line with the commitment of the Republic of Croatia to be a country which will realise the full scope of human rights, in the period from the submission of the Initial Report to the present day, the Government of the Republic of Croatia founded the following: in 2001, the Office for Human Rights, in 2004 the Office for Gender Equality, in 2003 the Office of the Ombudsperson for Gender Equality, in 2003 the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman, in 2005 CCPR/C/HRV/2 page 5 the Human Rights Centre and other institutions charged with tasks aimed at improving human rights (more is said about these and other institutions in the text of the Report). In relation to the legislative framework for the protection of human rights, in the period of eight years a significant number of laws and national policies, strategies and programmes were adopted. The purpose of adopting these documents was to strengthen the protection of vulnerable social groups who were assessed as needing special protection in realising their rights. 9. The existing legislative framework is also made up of the following pieces of legislation: Constitution and constitutional laws Constitution of the Republic of Croatia (OG 56/90, 135/97, 8/98 - revised text, 113/00, 124/00 - revised text, 41/01 - revised text, 55/01 - corrigendum, 41/01) Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities (OG 155/02) Constitutional Act on the Co-operation between the Republic of Croatia and the International Criminal Tribunal (OG 32/96) Constitutional Act on the Constitutional Court (OG 49/02) Laws Family Act (OG 116/03, 17/04, 136/04) Police Act (OG 129/00) Children’s Ombudsman Act (OG 96/03) Act on the Right of Access to Information (OG 172/03) Act on the Application of the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal and on Prosecutions of Criminal Offences against the International Military and Humanitarian Law (OG 175/03) Ombudsman Act (OG 60/92) Labour Act (OG 38/95, 54/95, 65/95, 17/01, 82/01, 114/03, 123/03, 142/03, 137/04) Gender Equality Act (OG 116/03) Social Welfare Act (OG 73/97, 27/01, 59/01, 82/01,103/03, 44/06) Juvenile Courts Act (OG 111/97, 27/98, 129/00) State Administration System Act (OG 190/03 - revised text and 199/03) Associations Act (OG, 88/01, 11/02) Act on the Use of the Languages and Scripts of National Minorities in the Republic of Croatia (OG 51/00, 56/00 - corrigendum) Act on Protection from Family Violence (OG 116/03) Act on the Protection of Persons with Mental Disorders (OG 111/97, 27/98, 128/99, 79/02) Health Care Act (OG 121/03, 44/05, 48/05, 85/06) Act on the Health Care for Foreigners in the Republic of Croatia (OG 114/97) Defence Act (OG 33/02, 58/02, 100/04) Act on the Service in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia (OG 33/02, 58/02, 175/03, 136/04) Youth Councils Act (Official Gazette,